Citibank Names Jane Fraser As The First Female CEO Of A Major Wall Street Bank

Citigroup (C) on Wednesday named Jane Fraser as its next CEO -- the first woman to lead a major U.S. bank -- and announced current Chief Executive Michael Corbat would step down in February.

Fraser, 53, who has been with Citi for 16 years, was appointed president and chief executive of global consumer banking in 2019 when she first became a potential CEO candidate at competing institutions, including Wells Fargo & Co. She will join Citi’s board immediately.

Fraser has been responsible for leading the bank’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in North America, coordinating the company work-for-home protocols, Bloomberg reported.

Fraser has had a variety of high profile roles. She served as the chief executive for Citi’s Private Bank as well as the leader of the U.S. consumer and commercial banking division. From 2007 to 2009, she led the bank's strategy and mergers-and-acquisitions division.

Corbat, 60, has served as chief executive for the past eight years.

“There is always more to do and I believe the time is right for my successor to lead Citi through this next stage of progress,” he said in a press release.

Corbat has been with Citi for 37 years. During his tenure, the firm struggled to bring down costs and achieve profitability targets. Shares have risen 43% during Corbat’s tenure, less than half the advance of the S&P 500 Financials Index, Bloomberg reported.

His departure comes amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has presented Citi with a major challenge since the majority of its workforce is working from home.

Citigroup posted a net income of $1.3 billion for the second quarter, a substantial decrease from 2019 when Citi posted a $4.8 billion profit. However, Citi's revenue increased by $1 billion year-over-year in the second quarter. The net income decrease was largely a result of increased provisions for loan losses.

Citigroup will announce a successor for Fraser to run the consumer unit in the coming weeks.

Shares of Citigroup on Wednesday were down 0.5%, or 25 cents, to $51.15, at 12:57 p.m. ET.