Citi has appointed Luke Lu as Citi country officer (CCO) and head of banking for China, according to a January 31 media release.
In this role, Lu (pictured) will oversee all of Citi’s businesses and operations in China and will be responsible for maintaining the firm’s client relationships and regulatory commitments.
Lu is succeeding Christine Lam, who is retiring from Citi. Lu will report to Angel Ng, Citi's head of Asia North and Australia, cluster and banking. Lu will also assume the position of president and board director of Citibank (China).
Lu is a Citi veteran with 25 years of banking experience, having worked in Hong Kong and mainland China. He joined Citi in 2002 in Shanghai and has held several senior leadership positions across corporate banking and commercial banking. Most recently, he led the corporate banking coverage of the large local corporate client segment.
Citi China provides global banking capabilities and services to mid-sized companies across commercial banking.
Ng commented: “Luke has a strong track record of delivering business growth, having knowledge and unique insight of the China market and a relentless focus on clients. The China market is a strategic priority for Citi, where we have a market-leading banking business that we are committed to, and Luke is well-qualified to lead and grow our franchise in China.”
“I would also like to thank Christine for her leadership of the Citi China franchise in the past seven years. Under her leadership, our China franchise has made tremendous progress. Christine has a distinguished career at Citi spanning 40 years, her contribution covers many businesses, functions and geographies,” added Ng.
In September 2023, Citi was the first US bank to receive approval from the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) and International Energy Exchange (INE) to act as a Futures Margin Depository Bank (FMDB) for its Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) clients to trade commodity futures on the SHFE and INE.
Citi is also pursuing the set-up of a wholly-owned securities and futures company in mainland China, the release said.
