NEW YORK (AP) — Citigroup Inc. said Monday that Teresa Dial will resign as CEO of its North America consumer banking unit for personal reasons, after holding the position for less than two years.
Dial, who joined the bank in March 2008, will remain with the company as a senior adviser.
When Dial took the post in 2008, it was part of Citigroup’s plan to split its consumer banking division from its credit-card business as part of a broader reorganization to cut costs and simplify the large financial institution’s structure.
Citigroup credited Dial with helping to improve the profitability of its U.S. retail banking business by lowering expenses and speeding up deposit growth.
New York-based Citigroup, which recently repaid federal bailout money it received, also named Manuel Medina-Mora as CEO of its consumer banking for the Americas unit and as chairman of the newly created global consumer council. He will still serve as chairman and CEO of Citi Latin America and Mexico, reporting to CEO Vikram Pandit. He has served as chairman and CEO of Latin America since 2004.
Medina-Mora will oversee Citigroup’s retail branch network, the branded cards business and the local commercial bank in the Americas as part of his role as CEO of consumer banking for the Americas. As consumer council chairman, Medina-Mora will work closely with regional CEOs and be responsible for the company’s global consumer strategy.
Citigroup’s North America consumer banking business, through more than 1,000 branches in the U.S. and Canada, serves close to 12 million retail banking accounts and has 25 million branded credit cards. Deposits were $139 billion and assets under management were $34 billion at the end of the third quarter.
The global consumer operations includes branded cards, the retail banking businesses and local commercial banks of Citicorp globally. It includes a network of nearly 4,200 branches in 38 countries. The cards business serves almost 58 million card accounts globally, while the retail bank serves more than 46 million customer accounts worldwide.
In other personnel news, reports circulated Monday that Citigroup is sending the CEO of its Japan unit back to New York after a six-year stint that ended with the bank quickly unloading assets in Japan in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Douglas Peterson will be replaced by Darren Buckley, president of Citibank Japan Ltd. since 2008. In New York, Peterson will help Citigroup repay the bailout money it still owes the U.S. government, The Wall Street Journal said, without naming its source.
Citigroup, which repaid $20 billion in bailout money in December, was among the hundreds of banks that received funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Treasury Department extended a total of about $453 billion to banks, insurers, automakers and other companies under the program. Repayment of the money frees banks from government restrictions, such as executive pay limitations.
