Citigroup’s dealmakers have been keeping busy with family offices looking to get in on the blank-check frenzy. Now the lender wants to bring its private bank a piece of the action.
The new global wealth division, which is being formed by combining the firm’s private bank with a unit that serves substantially less wealthy households, will be led by Citi veteran Jim O’Donnell.
His family got its start in banking by financing camel-caravan traders in the Ottoman Empire and eventually expanded its reach into the U.S., Europe and Latin America.
The unit as of September had 20% more clients than a year earlier. Liu, who is head of North America for Citi Private Bank, explains the changes she’s made to help her group attract and serve millennials, Gen Z, Asian Americans and families.
The New York commercial bank says geographic diversification is a long-term necessity and that the interplay of its private banking and commercial banking businesses has helped it withstand the economic shock of the coronavirus.
Anthony DeChellis’ strategy for staying relevant in a competitive metro market is a little odd — rebuild the private banking business his predecessor shrank — but observers say he might be the executive who can pull it off.
