"I am very fortunate to close out my banking career at Citi working for Jane Fraser, a truly inspirational leader, and will always be a proud Citi alum!" — Titi Cole
Titi Cole, CEO of legacy franchises at Citigroup, is leaving the megabank at the end of June.
Processing Content
She joined Citi in 2020 as the head of operations and fraud prevention for its consumer banking business, after a nearly four-year stint at Wells Fargo as the head of operations and contact centers for consumer and small-business banking.
As part of Citi CEO Jane Fraser's ambitious reorganization plan, Cole was tasked in 2022 with winding down or selling its consumer banking operations in 14 countries.
In an interview with American Banker last year, Cole said it was one of the most fulfilling jobs she's ever had, in part because of her efforts to assist the more than 65,000 employees who have been affected by the bank's exits.
Cole, however, is leaving the bank before the reorganization is complete. So far, Citi has exited nine of its 14 international consumer franchises, and in a first-quarter earnings call, Fraser told analysts that the bank plans to cut its workforce by 20,000 by the end of 2026.
The company has long been criticized for its lagging financial performance and its complexity. CEO Jane Fraser is pushing through Citigroup's most recent transformation plan, but will she succeed where her predecessors have failed?
One of the most senior women and Black executives at Citi, Cole established the DEI Council, expanded criteria for diverse slates and panels and helped launch inclusive hiring training and DEI goals for 10,000 managers. Cole also actively sponsored members of Citi's Black and Women's Employee networks.
Cole, a longtime Most Powerful Women in Banking honoree, has worked in banking for 32 years. Before Citi and Wells, Cole led retail products and underwriting at Bank of America and held a similar retail banking role at BMO Harris Bank.
In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, Cole thanked the people who have supported her along the way, particularly Fraser.
"I am very fortunate to close out my banking career at Citi working for Jane Fraser, a truly inspirational leader, and will always be a proud Citi alum! In the last few years, I've had the incredible opportunity to work with colleagues around the world who delivered with excellence for the firm and our clients as we sought to divest our international consumer businesses and simplify the firm in a very significant and meaningful way," she wrote.
Following her departure at the end of June, Cole said she plans to spend time with her family and friends before seeking opportunities in the nonprofit sector around women and health care.
The financial advisory firm initially sought an industrial loan charter back in 2020. It's the third company to receive the necessary approvals this year, joining General Motors and Ford.
Though changes to bank capital rules previewed by Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman in February are being viewed as welcome, experts say other more significant hurdles — not all of them regulatory — are keeping banks on the sidelines of mortgage servicing and lending.
Fulton Financial received the necessary approvals to acquire Blue Foundry Bancorp; JPMorgan hired two Bank of America health care veterans while shuffling leadership; Mizuho Financial Group has plans to replace about 5,000 administrative jobs with artificial intelligence over the next 10 years; and more in this week's banking news roundup.
Preferred Bank moved a $115 million block of loans to nonaccrual status after the borrower, which is battling fraud charges leveled by other banks, began missing payments.
A final rule published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Friday will formalize a 2021 interpretive guidance allowing national trust banks to perform non-fiduciary custody. The banking industry complained that the rule runs counter to the traditional scope of the charter.
