Citi appoints new head of Asean markets and banking

Citi announced Monday a reshuffling of staff that shows the importance of Asia to its global business.

Piyush Gupta will become head of Asean markets and banking covering Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei. He succeeds Catherine Weir, who has been appointed CEO of Citi’s Global wealth management business for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) based in London.

A Citi spokesperson says that Asean markets and banking is a key growth business for Citi. It has been investing heavily in the segment; for example, last year, (so during Weir's tenure as head of the business) Citi launched commercial banking in Indonesia, as well as securities and fund services in Vietnam. Earlier this year it launched a prime brokerage operation in Singapore.

Gupta's new post will be in Singapore but he has worked throughout the region across Citi's corporate and consumer banking business. He joined Citi in 1982 in India and was most recently the chief executive officer of Citibank Berhad and the Citi country officer for Malaysia, responsible for Citi's overall franchise in the market.

During Gupta's tenure in Malaysia he grew Citi's business, particularly its global transactions services, its SME coverage, as well as Islamic banking offerings. He also oversaw the expansion of Citi's branch network from three to seven, opening the bank’s first new branch in Malaysia in 48 years, before further extending Citi's reach through a sales subsidiary with 10 branches.

"Piyush brings a wealth of experience and a track record of building and managing market leading businesses across our corporate banking, capital markets and consumer banking franchises," says Robert Morse, CEO of Citi markets and banking, Asia-Pacific.

Indeed Gupta has also held the positions of head of strategic planning for emerging markets based in London and regional director GTS Asia-Pacific based in Hong Kong. He was chief country officer and markets and banking head for Indonesia in the late-1990s, where he served as a member of the Indonesian government’s debt restructuring committee as well as chairman of the Foreign Banks’ Association. He was also Asia-Pacific corporate bank E-commerce head, and head of strategic planning, acquisitions and alliances, prior to his role in Malaysia. He starts his new job in a few week's time, after a brief transition period.