Citi Private Bank Loses China Heavyweight

Citi Private Bank loses several within its mainland China coverage team, including a veteran relationship manager.

Citi Private Bank’s global market manager for southern mainland China, Kevin King, has resigned from the bank, sources said. In addition, another four have also left the China team at the private bank.

A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment.

King spent a decade with Citi Private Bank covering the China market after kicking off his private wealth career with UBS and J. Safra Sarasin. Prior to joining the industry, he worked at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council where he focused on developing relations with the Greater China business community.

The departures occurred in the midst of a new organizational structure for Citi’s private banking arm.

Previously a standalone business, the American lender will now run all its wealth management businesses under a single unit, merging teams that cover the full range of clients from retail to ultra-high net worth individuals. The new unit will be led by ex-global head of investor sales and relationship management Jim O’Donnell.

Last year, Citi’s merged wealth management businesses in Asia Pacific posted record-high net new money of $20 billion, a 10 percent year-on-year increase, according to the bank. This led assets under management to grow to $238 billion with a client base that includes approximately one-third of all billionaires in the region.