Citi Reorganizes Equities Unit in Bid to Move Up Rankings

(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. reorganized its equities division as the bank seeks to move up the league-table rankings for stock trading.

Julia Raiskin will lead the equities-sales efforts in the Asia-Pacific region, Dirk Keijer will have a similar role for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Cedric Pauwels will be in charge of those efforts for the Americas, according to a company memo. Antonin Jullier will leave his post as global head of equity sales to explore other opportunities.

The moves are meant to help the bank become a top-four competitor in equities trading within two to three years, according to the memo from Fater Belbachir, who joined Citigroup from Barclays Plc earlier this year to lead the global equities-trading operation.

“I have spent a significant amount of time with many of you over the last few months since I joined Citi. The engagement and enthusiasm to drive the equities franchise forward was evident in all discussions,” Belbachir said in the memo. “Delivering the firm and platform in a client-centric model is going to be critical for our success.”

Citigroup has long sought to move up the league tables in equities trading. In 2016, the bank set out to increase its market share to attain a ranking of fifth or sixth, up from roughly eighth or ninth at that time, a move it said could boost revenue by $1 billion. Citigroup spent years investing in the business and now ranks sixth in equities trading globally. Revenue, however, was roughly $200 million lower last year than in 2015.

This year, though, the firm’s stock traders have benefited from volatile markets that have led major indexes to reach records repeatedly. Revenue from the business rose 18% to $2.8 billion in the first nine months of the year.

‘Future Success’

“I am confident that our new equities organization will position us well for future success,” Belbachir said in the memo.

As part of Tuesday’s changes, Quentin Andre and Eduardo Martinez Campos will jointly lead Citigroup’s sales efforts for the firm’s global multi-asset group, while Andre alone will lead sales for global derivatives and delta one. Steve Roti will oversee sales for the structured equity solutions unit.

Raiskin will also be head of cash and derivatives equities trading in the Asia-Pacific region, and Peter Lambrakis will spearhead those efforts in the Americas on an interim basis. David Haldane will oversee them in EMEA while keeping his title as global head of derivatives.

Here are other highlights from Tuesday’s memo:

• Ashley Matteo will be in charge of global in-business risk, while Rob Pitcher will be in charge of risk architecture and product platform for derivatives and the delta one business.
• Chris Cox will continue to oversee both equities and securities services in EMEA, while Raiskin will continue to manage the equities division in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Ricardo Hesse will continue to lead the securities-services business in Latin America.

Separately, Citigroup promoted Managing Directors Susan Manuelle and Niraj Shah to co-heads of North America industrials coverage, effective later this month.

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