Citigroup names Bank of America veteran Zhang as new China country head

[HONG KONG] Citigroup said on Monday (Jun 2) that it had appointed Wenjie Zhang as its new country officer and banking head for China, after the exit of its former China head in November.

Zhang was also named president and executive director of Citibank China, the company said. The appointment is subject to regulatory approvals.

He will act as the lead Citi representative and as its single, coordinated face in the mainland China market, the company said, leading the team and fostering strong regulatory relationships and risk controls.

He will fill the role after former Citi China head Luke Lu left in November for personal reasons.

Zhang will join Citi in July and will be based in Shanghai, reporting to Marc Luet, Citi’s head of Japan, Asia North and Australia and Banking, the bank said.

A seasoned banker with 30 years of experience in corporate and institutional banking, Zhang was most recently the president of China and Shanghai branch manager for Bank of America China, according to Citi’s statement.

Prior to that, he was co-head of global banking and executive vice-president at HSBC China, after stints at JPMorgan, Citi and Credit Agricole CIB.

Citi is cutting up to 200 information technology (IT) contractor roles in China, two sources familiar told Reuters last month, as the bank looks to hire its own staff globally for such operations to improve risk management and data governance.

Citi, which already has a banking business in China, is in the process of setting up a securities unit in the country. REUTERS