Banking veteran Paco Ybarra to depart Citigroup after 36 years
Banking veteran Paco Ybarra is to step down as CEO of Citigroup’s institutional clients group (ICG) at “some point in the first half of next year”, according to an internal memo, seen by FinTech Futures, sent by Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser to staff last week.
Paco Ybarra is set to leave Citigroup next year
Ybarra’s 36-year career with Citi began in 1987 when he joined as a management associate, subsequently rising through the ranks to serve in several positions including co-head of global fixed income and global head of markets and securities services, among others.
He has subsequently held the position of CEO of ICG since 2019.
In her memo, Fraser describes Ybarra as “nothing short of a brilliant strategist and global markets expert”, and that during his time with the group, “he helped drive the creation and implementation of our refreshed strategy, helped us make meaningful progress on our transformation, put in place measures to improve the client experience, and drove and adopted smarter use of data”.
The memo adds: “Knowing that these initiatives have taken hold and are progressing across the bank, Paco feels that now is the right time to make this change.”
Fraser also makes note of how Ybarra weathered “our industry’s most challenging moments”, which extended to the Mexican peso crisis of 1994, the global financial crisis of 2008, and more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020.
He is expected to leave at some point in the first half of 2024, and will aid Citi in the transition of his responsibilities. As of yet, it remains unclear who will step in to fulfil his position.
