Citigroup boss is reportedly considering liquidating the bank’s largest division

The head of US banking giant Citigroup is reportedly considering splitting up the lender’s largest arm as part of a sweeping restructuring.

The plan calls for the bank’s Institutional Clients Group (ICG), which provides financial services to institutional investors and governments, to be split into its three main business segments.

According to a Financial Times report, the proposed changes would give Jane Fraser, who joined as chief executive in 2021, “greater day-to-day control”.

Upheaval: US banking giant Citi could split its largest division into three new segments

The three new divisions – investment and corporate banking, global markets and transaction services – will be led by their current heads, who would report directly to Fraser.

ICG generated more than half of the bank’s $19.4 billion in revenue in the second quarter.

The possible move comes after the bank announced this month that Paco Ybarra, the division’s chief executive officer, will retire in the first half of 2024.

Ybarra’s proposed departure followed a series of senior management changes as Fraser looks to restructure the bank amid falling profits.

Last month, Citigroup reported a 36 percent fall in profit to £2.2 billion as higher interest rates failed to offset the fall in its trading revenue.

It was one of the few major US banks to report declining earnings alongside Goldman Sachs, which posted its worst performance in three years.

US banking giant JPMorgan, on the other hand, reported that second-quarter profit rose by two-thirds.

In addition to ICG, Citi also has a consumer-facing division that includes retail banking, credit cards, and wealth management.

The group has previously announced that it plans to spin off its wealth management division from the rest of its retail bank.

If the new plan to break up ICG goes through, Citi would end up with two consumer divisions and three commercial units.