Since joining Citi in June 2024 from JPMorgan Chase, Raghavan has recruited more than a dozen senior bankers from top rivals, luring them with multimillion-dollar compensation packages. Among the high-profile hires are Amit Nayyar, incoming co-head of technology investment banking for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and new M&A co-heads Guillermo Baygual and Drago Rajkovic, alongside Pankaj Goel, co-head for technology investment banking. Most were longtime colleagues from JPMorgan, though others have been hired from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Ares Management and HSBC.
The high-caliber additions are part of CEO Jane Fraser’s sweeping turnaround strategy, which has already involved cutting management layers, laying off thousands of staff, and streamlining Citi into five core divisions. Improving the investment banking unit — long a weak spot compared with Wall Street peers — is seen as a keystone in Fraser’s plan.
“His decision to join Citi reflects our ability to attract the best talent to our firm, and I look forward to seeing our banking franchise flourish,” Fraser said in a social media post when Raghavan was appointed.
A Shift in Culture
Beyond recruitment, Raghavan has surprised colleagues by pushing bankers to collaborate across units, a cultural shift in an industry where executives often guard client relationships closely. According to insiders, investment bankers are now expected to introduce clients to colleagues in Citi’s wealth management and services divisions, and vice versa. The aim is to deepen relationships and generate revenue across multiple lines of business.
“Investment banking is a relationship-intense business, so people make a difference,” noted Barclays analyst Jason Goldberg, who said the strategy is beginning to yield results.
Signs of Progress
Citi ranked fifth in global investment banking revenue this year, with a 5% market share — up 0.5 percentage points from a year ago, according to Dealogic. In mergers and acquisitions (M&A), performance was even stronger: Citi climbed to fourth place globally, from seventh in 2024, thanks to involvement in seven of the year’s ten largest fee-paying deals.
The banking division also posted the highest growth of any Citi business this quarter, up 23% year-on-year, underscoring the early momentum.
Still, challenges remain. Citi’s market share in equity and debt capital markets has remained flat, while its loan revenue slipped to seventh place this year from sixth in 2024. Analysts also point out that Citi continues to lag in private equity-led deals, a lucrative segment dominated by rivals.
The Road Ahead
For Fraser, who has set a target of 10% to 11% return on tangible equity by 2026, the pressure is on to sustain these gains. Analysts like Wells Fargo’s Mike Mayo note that Citi has been losing market share in investment banking for a quarter of a century, making the turnaround an uphill battle.
“Now Raghavan has a clear mandate to increase market share and returns at the banking division,” Mayo said.
Citi is also still grappling with legacy regulatory issues. The bank was fined $136 million in 2024 for failing to fix longstanding deficiencies in risk and data management — a cloud Fraser’s team must continue to address even as they push for growth.
For now, however, the combination of bold hiring and a shift toward collaboration has injected fresh energy into Citi’s investment banking arm, giving Fraser and Raghavan early wins in their effort to restore competitiveness on Wall Street.