Citi’s chief operating officer, Anand Selva, will co-lead the bank’s data program with Tim Ryan, the lender’s head of technology and business enablement, according to a memo seen Monday by Banking Dive.
Selva remains the head of the overall transformation effort, which includes data, controls, risk and compliance, the company said.
Meanwhile, Ryan will assume direct oversight of the data team, according to the memo.
Transformation has been a top priority for Citi ever since the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued consent orders in 2020, urging the bank to modernize its tech infrastructure.
Selva and Ryan acknowledged the link between data and technology and highlighted that the collaboration aims to leverage technology more effectively while improving the pace and quality of the transformation efforts — specifically in data management.
Prior to joining Citi, Ryan was U.S. senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, overseeing the firm’s strategy and execution. He has experience in leading large-scale transformation and bringing workforce and business operations into the digital age across the company, Citi said.
Citi last year tapped Selva, a 33-year veteran of the bank, to lead the effort to bolster its risk management, data governance and internal controls. But Selva’s methods have come under fire. Kathleen Martin, Citi’s former interim data transformation chair, has sued the bank, claiming Selva asked her to hide information from the OCC because the data would make the bank “look bad.” Martin claims she was fired for refusing to do so. The bank, in a counterclaim, said she was dismissed for underperformance.
New roles
Ashutosh Nawani will join Ryan’s team as the newly minted head of enterprise data office and data transformation. The chief data office will report to Nawani, except for India's analytics and information management unit. Nawani will join from the risk unit, where he oversaw the enterprise risk management and led Citi’s risk transformation program.
Japan Mehta, Citi’s chief data officer, who assumed his role in October 2023, will work closely with the data team and Nawani to help him transition to his new role. After the transition is complete, Mehta will take up a new role, the memo said, without specifying the details.
Citi’s chief risk officer, Zdenek Turek, will appoint a leader from within the organization to take over Nawani’s role on an interim basis while the search for a permanent successor continues.
Ryan joined Citi roughly eight months into its reorganization. Citi “concluded” the effort’s “major actions” in March, having let go of 7,000 employees, with 20,000 job cuts expected by 2026.
The Fed and OCC fined Citi $135.6 million for failing to move quickly enough to resolve the 2020 consent orders.
The change in Citi’s operating model, however, is not related to the new penalties, a spokesperson for the bank said.
Citi spent around $12.2 billion in technology last year, with more than half of that going toward modernizing its capabilities.
“A transformation of this magnitude is never linear,” Citi CEO Jane Fraser said during the bank’s first-quarter earnings call. “So while we have made good progress in many areas, there are a few where we are intensifying our efforts, such as automating certain regulatory processes and the data related to regulatory reporting. We are committed to getting these right and will look to self-fund the necessary investments to do so.”
An $80M deal
Additionally, Citi announced Monday that it is selling its trust services unit, Citi Trust, to JTC in a deal worth $80 million.
The acquisition bolsters JTC's global presence, particularly strengthening its private client services division. It expands its reach in high-growth markets across the US, Europe, and Asia, while enhancing stable recurring revenue streams, according to the company.
Citi will continue to provide clients with investment management, wealth planning, lending and banking services, while JTC will offer the trustee and fiduciary services.
“The decision to sell our personal trust administration and fiduciary business allows us to focus our resources on areas that will create impact for our global clients and drive growth for our wealth business,” Ida Liu, head of Citi private bank, said in a statement.
