The Most Powerful Women in Finance: No. 17, Ida Liu, Citigroup

As Citigroup undergoes a massive restructuring, Ida Liu, head of Citi Private Bank, is focused on the engagement and morale of a 3,000-employee team spread across 52 offices in 20 countries.

Liu's methods include traditional efforts such as frequent communication through emails and town halls and less conventional techniques that include inviting a nutritionist to advise on eating and a doctor to discuss sleep. She organized a competitive bake sale at the London branch and once invited a Buddhist monk to discuss guided meditation.

"I've done yoga classes with the team here at 388 Greenwich [in New York] in our gym," Liu said.

The activities are meant to bring together a team that Liu believes is a critical part of a newer, simplified Citi. Private bank is one of three areas of wealth management, which, in turn, is one of five business lines Citi CEO Jane Fraser is focusing on for future growth and profits.

The private bank is now working more holistically with business lines including the investment bank and corporate bank, Liu said, stating that most of her clients do their business-side banking with Citi.

Citi's streamlining, set to continue through 2026, is expected to result in 15,000 job cuts. But Liu said her team has already made a lot of structural changes by "removing layers of management to get the client closer to us."

After declines the past few years, private bank revenue ticked up by 1% in the second quarter from a year earlier, generating $611 million. The segment reported $2.3 billion in 2023 revenue. Currently, Liu's team is focused on cutting costs while producing revenue.

The goal is "getting fit as a business," Liu said.

In her third year as private bank head, Liu also presides over major clientele shifts. This is partly geographic, as the private bank opened offices in Paris and Frankfurt in 2022, where it is recruiting new clients. There are also major demographic shifts — the passing of wealth from men to women and from baby boomers to the millennial generation.

"Women are going to play a more prominent role," Liu said. "Today, they control about one-third of global wealth but over the next decade that's going to shift to about half."

Women investors tend to be focused on impact investing, or ESG, Liu said, as are next-gen and millennial clients, which have a higher percentage of women than baby boomers or Gen X.

"I think we're going to reach a stage in the next decade or so where we are not going to be talking about ESG as a separate sleeve," Liu said. "It's going to be a core part of a client's portfolio."

Citi is responding, Liu said, by offering granular products such as clean bonds and housing bonds, along with customized equity solutions.

Liu co-heads Citi's Asian heritage network, which prioritizes helping Asian women get promoted to the executive level. She has lamented that learned behaviors of Asian women, such as "be humble and not to boast," hurt in a banking industry where self-promotion is king.

She walks female Asian bankers through "elevator pitch sessions," where they get guidance in "the ability to advocate for oneself."

Liu's advice for women entering banking captures what she wishes she could tell her younger self: think big.

"Communication is key, and networking is everything," she said.