Skip to content
Finance

Citi To Hire 2,500 Coders This Year

By Maria Santos
1 min read
Citibank OFC e1418962468163
Citibank OFC e1418962468163
In this article (4)

Citigroup’s investment bank plans to recruit 2,500 programmers this year as technology reshapes the business. The move should save as much as $600 million in 2020.

Citi intends to beef up the unit that houses its traders and investment bankers with coders and data scientists.  The Institutional Clients Group (ICG) arm, which already has 23,000 technology specialists in its ICG business globally, said the new roles will be in London, New York, Shanghai, Toronto, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Pune and Chennai in India, and Tampa, Florida.

The hires reflect what we are building in technology and why we are focused on making salespeople and traders more effective at servicing our clients, said Stuart Riley, Citi’s global head of operations and technology.

About three-quarters of the company’s trade orders last year were electronic, according to Riley. Technology is augmenting what humans do by making better use of data.

Citigroup budgets roughly $8.5 billion, or about 20 percent of total expenses for technology every year. Bank of America Corp has said it spends approximately $10 billion on technology, with about US$3 billion allocated to new projects.

Global banks are investing billions in a race to apply technologies that make front-office staff more efficient and keep clients trading.  Other firms that are hiring as computer specialists include Goldman Sachs Group Inc and J.P. Morgan.

Questions & Answers

Q.

Which specific division within Citigroup will receive these new technology hires?

A.

The new coders and data scientists will be added to the Institutional Clients Group (ICG) arm. This division currently houses Citi’s traders and investment bankers, where technology is being used to make them more effective.

Q.

What is the expected financial benefit for Citi from this recruitment drive?

A.

Citi anticipates saving as much as $600 million in 2020 as a direct result of hiring these new programmers. This move is part of how technology is reshaping the investment banking business.

Q.

What proportion of Citi’s trade orders were electronic last year?

A.

According to Stuart Riley, Citi’s global head of operations and technology, approximately three-quarters of the company’s trade orders last year were electronic. This shows the growing reliance on technology in trading.

Reader pulse

Citi's tech hiring spree:

18,133 votes so far

Weekly Briefing

Asia's retail intelligence, in your inbox

Tuesday, Thursday and a Saturday Weekly Wrap: the retail stories, numbers and moves that mattered across Asia. Nothing else, and you can unsubscribe in one click.

  • Top industry moves and market shifts
  • Weekly data-driven analysis from across Asia
  • Tuesday, Thursday and the Saturday Weekly Wrap

Read by retail operators, investors and brand teams across Asia.

Protected by a quick human check. No spam, ever. Unsubscribe in one click.

SecureGDPR ready