Citigroup says it's assessing how to allocate the responsibilities of Paco Ybarra, the head of its sprawling institutional clients group, who plans to leave the bank in the first half of 2024.
Ybarra, 61, is a 36-year Citi veteran and a top deputy to CEO Jane Fraser. Since 2019, he has led the bank's institutional business, which includes trading, investment banking, corporate banking and the treasury and trade division. During the second quarter, the institutional business produced roughly 54% of Citi's total revenue, net of interest expenses.
In an internal memo announcing Ybarra's departure, Fraser did not name a successor or single out any executives as likely to take on a bigger role. She said that the New York-based bank plans to use the time before Ybarra leaves to determine its next steps.
"I expect that we'll complete our assessment and be in a position to share decisions with you in the coming months," Fraser wrote in the memo to employees. "In the meantime, I know Paco and his leadership team will remain fully focused on delivering our priorities and serving our clients with excellence."
Ybarra's key deputies include: Tasnim Ghiawadwala, global head of the commercial bank; Shahmir Khaliq, global head of treasury and trade solutions; Andy Morton, head of markets; Okan Pekin, head of securities services; Tyler Dickson and Manolo Falco, who co-head banking, capital markets and advisory services; and
Ybarra has been with Citi since 1987, when he was hired as a management associate in Madrid. He subsequently worked on the $2.4 trillion-asset bank's trading floors in Mexico, Singapore, New York and London. Prior to his current role, he led Citi's combined markets and securities services business.
"A picture of grace under fire, Paco helped Citi navigate some of our industry's most challenging moments, including the Mexican peso crisis in 1994, the global financial crisis and the pandemic," Fraser wrote in her internal memo.
She wrote that the decision about how to handle Ybarra's responsibilities after his departure will be made in a manner that's consistent with the work that Citi is doing to simplify its organizational structure.
At an investor day in March 2022, Fraser said that
Ybarra was Citi's second highest-paid executive last year, collecting $18.9 million in total compensation.
His pay was up more than $400,000 from 2021, despite what the bank described in its latest proxy statement as a "downward adjustment," citing "incidents that reflected poorly on Citi … for which remedial actions are required."
Bloomberg News
