Citigroup said it will eliminate 20,000 roles in a move that will save it as much as $2.5 billion as part of Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser's quest to boost the Wall Street giant's lagging returns.
Firmwide expenses are expected to drop to a range of $51 billion to $53 billion over the medium-term, Citigroup said. In the meantime, though, the firm expects to incur as much as $1 billion in expenses tied to severance payments and Fraser's broader overhaul of the bank.
Read more:
The outlook for cost savings helped mask a disappointing fourth quarter, when Citigroup's fixed-income traders turned in their worst performance in five years as the rates and currencies business was stung by a slump in client activity in the final weeks of the year. Revenue from the business slumped 25% to $2.6 billion.
"The fourth quarter was very disappointing," Fraser said in the statement. "Given how far we are down the path of our simplification and divestitures, 2024 will be a turning point."
Fraser in September initiated the biggest restructuring of Citigroup in decades as she seeks to improve the bank's returns. She has said the moves will allow the bank to eliminate bureaucracy, slimming it down from 13 management layers to just eight.
Read more:
Ultimately, firmwide headcount will decline by 60,000 jobs to 180,000 by the end of 2026, Mason said. That includes the 20,000 roles that will be eliminated as part of Fraser's broader overhaul as well as 40,000 staffers that will depart when Citigroup lists its consumer, small business and middle-market banking businesses in Mexico in an initial public offering.
