(Reuters) -Citigroup has appointed Luen-Yuan (Lenny) Chu as the head of China Global Network Banking (GNB), effective August 11, the bank said on Thursday.
Chu, who spent nearly two decades with Europe’s largest bank HSBC, will oversee corporate banking services for multinational companies operating in China, a critical segment for Citi’s global operations.
The move comes just months after sources told Reuters that Citi is cutting up to 200 information technology (IT) contractor roles in China, as part of a broader effort to internalise such operations to improve risk management and data governance.
Citi currently serves around 70% of the Fortune Global 500 companies with operations in China, underscoring the importance of its GNB business in the region.
“China is one of our key GNB franchises and Lenny will be responsible for delivering business growth in collaboration with internal partners and stakeholders,” said Chris Wen, Citi China’s corporate banking head.
Chu’s appointment adds to a series of high-profile hires at Citi as it expands several business lines, including investment banking.
Earlier this week, the bank named industry veteran Aashish Dhakad as the head of its private credit origination division in North America while beefing up its investment team with the key hires of Vikram Chavali and Deepak Dangayach as managing directors.
(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
