Citi overhauls private bank as unit head Ida Liu ends 18-year employment

Citigroup Inc. is revamping the management structure of its private bank following the resignation of Ida Liu, who’s led the unit for almost four years.

A new structure, announced on the same day as Liu’s departure, will eliminate her current role and instead focus on four regional heads who will report directly to Andy Sieg, head of the wealth business.

“This will enable even closer collaboration with leaders of the products and functions essential to delivering for our clients around the world,” he said in a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg News.

Liu, who will leave at the end of the month, has led the part of Citigroup that caters to its highest-wealth clients for almost four years and has had an 18-year career with the New York-based bank.

One of Citigroup’s most senior women, she started at the company in 2007, when she launched its private bank’s fashion, media and entertainment practice. Liu thanked colleagues in a post on LinkedIn, where she said she was leaving for “the next chapter” of her career.

“She has left an indelible mark across our organization and will be greatly missed,” Sieg wrote in a separate memo to staff.

The private bank is one of three core units of the wealth business at Citigroup, which has been revamping its strategy under Sieg, who joined the business from Bank of America Corp. in 2023. Returns and revenue have since risen at the business, with a focus on increasing investment volumes from clients, who include about a quarter of the world’s billionaires.

Last year, the wealth business saw departures of private bankers to Bank of America as well as a wave of exits from its Wealth at Work unit, including the head of that unit, Naz Vahid. Citigroup lags behind peers, with women making up just 17% of its top management team — including Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser.

Under the new management structure, the heads of four private-bank geographies will report to Sieg: Steven Lo, who will lead Japan, Australia, North Asia and Asia South; Antonio Gonzales, head of Latin America; Cayman Wills, who will be in charge of North America on an interim basis; and James Holder, head of the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

Other announcements Monday include the hiring of Christian Zeinler as head of strategy for Citi Wealth and head of business execution for the private bank. Zeinler was previously head of strategy and business development at UBS Group AG, after nearly a decade with consultancy McKinsey & Co.