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I cover Citigroup at an affiliate news agency in the UK focused on financial services. The Financial Times published an article today on [REDACTED] that raises two notable issues: questions about the rigor of Citi’s due diligence process and whether the firm should have been aware of prior workplace concerns surrounding his departure from JPMorgan. While some of those concerns had circulated in the market, they were not formally substantiated at the time of his hiring. The rumours, essentially, were that he is a bully with a toxic management style, something the FT article validates from multiple sources.

Separate from that, many reporters who cover Wall Street are aware of a letter that was sent to Citi’s Board of Directors in January 2025 raising concerns about the conduct of the “star get” they hired to run wealth, which also include allegations of an extremely volatile management style. I have not independently verified the contents of that correspondence, nor has it been made public.

However, it is my understanding that it was written in the style of yet another letter written to the BoD, summarized as follows by Google: “A group claiming to be ten former Citigroup managing directors sent a five-page letter to the board in October 2024, demanding the clawback of bonuses for hundreds of managers and reduced spending on consultants. The group, reportedly holding $12.7 million in deferred stock compensation, criticized the bank’s “transformation” efforts and high costs.” (Link below.)

Taken together, these points raise compelling questions about how Citi evaluates senior leadership hires and manages cultural risk at the top of the organisation. It also raises eyebrows with regard to governance. Should Jane Fraser have been elevated to Board Chair when she is an insider on all of these decisions? And was the $25M “signing bonus” she got for that title appropriate? Even banking analyst Mike Mayo criticized it as inappropriate.

The press will be watching this space and the comments section of the FT closely for potentially newsworthy leads.

https://www.ft.com/content/e45c2c21-babe-4fd9-85f1-2b2b3aa38872

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-31/ex-citigroup-bankers-urge-board-to-claw-back-hundreds-of-bonuses