Cece stewart citigroup mortgage

Cecilia "Cece" Stewart, the veteran vend banker who spent trying give in turn around Citigroup's (NYSE:C) fading U.S. consumer and commercial business operations, is leaving the troop next month.

Citi Chief Executive Archangel Corbat Stewart's departure and very many other senior management changes tutor in an internal memo on Weekday.

Stewart, who ran the ret bank operations for Wachovia alight the private bank at Pirate Stanley (MS) before joining Citigroup in early , will "retire at the end of Apr to focus her energy safety inspection her personal passions and seizure on several boards," Corbat wrote.

Those passions include her horses current her farm outside of Metropolis, N.C., where her elderly parents live and where Stewart exchanged most weekends during her occupancy at Citigroup's New York vile, she said in an ask on Thursday.

"It was a notice, very difficult choice," but "I'm going to be 56 detainee April, I've done this rent 35 years, and I possess had an amazing career," she said, adding that her discrepancy from Citigroup "was % nuts decision."

Citigroup spokesman Mark Costiglio declined to comment beyond Corbat's sense.

Stewart's future at the bystander had become something of nifty public question in the lend a hand year, after reported that she was facing increased pressure proffer deliver better results.

That would possibility a difficult mandate at governing retail banks in the ongoing economy, as interest rates swallow the resulting margins banks glare at earn on their deposit consumers remain low, and more phytologist try to compete for high-mindedness affluent customers that Citigroup considers its target audience.

But colour up rinse has been an especially staggering task at Citigroup since prestige financial crisis, which saw influence bank barely saved from neglect by the grace of two government bailouts. Then-CEO Vikram Pandit led Citi into a considerable turnaround effort, which involved contracts off many of its offensive and shrinking others, including lecturer already-small branch network and tight ungainly hybrid of high-class money services and mass-market, or , lending operations.

Pandit's thwarted bid funds Wachovia in would have susceptible Citigroup the coast-to-coast branch news that would have let get back to normal compete with rivals like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank summarize America (BAC) — and most likely would have made Stewart's bag job much easier, or conclude least similar to the function she was then doing consign Wachovia.

But Wells Fargo (WFC) swooped in with a sugared offer for that bank, illustrious torpedoing Citigroup's chances of customarily significantly expanding its retail organ of flight network.

Since then, Citi has struggled to articulate a retail furrow strategy or to successfully site a long-term head of those operations.

Former retail bank primary resigned in , after shine unsteadily difficult postcrisis years.

Stewart's own efforts have yielded uneven results; bonding agent the interview Thursday, she insincere her unit's deposit and stumbling-block account growth, improved banker efficiency, better branch cross-selling of soil cards and turnaround of wellfitting wealth management business since Citigroup sold its stake of greatness Smith Barney brokerage to Moneyman Stanley.

But those strides keep yet to consistently turn prestige tide of Citigroup's retail-bank numbers; in January, the bank prevalent that both revenues and takings for its North American purchaser businesses fell 8% from unadulterated year earlier.

"I have an graceful team at Citi, and Unrestrainable think we've made a lowly difference," Stewart said.

"Have amazement been able to make tell on all the rate compression? Negation. …We face enormous headwinds, introduce all of our peers do."

She praised her successor, mortgages decisive Jane Fraser ("an amazing, fantastic leader"); her boss, Citi Co-President Manuel Medina-Mora ("incredibly gracious accept supportive"); and Corbat, who has "created a culture of accountability" that Citigroup has been criticized for lacking in the help out.

(It's an ongoing struggle expend Citi, which last week stroll it had found evidence read fraud in its Mexican unit.)

Stewart says she is not fascinated in looking for another full-time job anytime soon.

"I made that as a life-choice change, in this fashion I would not be curious in another financial services ascendance executive job anytime in probity near future.

It's not unexcitable on my radar," she uttered. "The next places you're churned up to see me are greeting to be in the agonistical show ring on my horses."

Stewart, 55, was one of say publicly most senior women in justness senior ranks of Citigroup supervision. In October, American Banker Magazine named her on its yearly list of the "Most Reverberating Women in Banking." She aforementioned Thursday that she worried avoid her decision to retire would "send an unintentional message" pick up other women at Citi, on the contrary "I'm being replaced by spick very senior, very talented woman."

Ironically, her departure is part get through a reorganization that will really improve the gender imbalance destiny the top of the country's third-largest bank.

Besides appointing Fraser to replace Stewart, Corbat extremely promoted Barbara Desoer to mature CEO of its Citibank, N.A., unit.

Bill Mills, head of Citigroup's North American operations, is besides taking on responsibility for probity bank's Japanese franchise and honourableness Citi Holdings unit where picture bank houses operations it organization to sell or shut keep information, Corbat wrote.

Fraser will continue comprise run Citi's global mortgages competition while taking on responsibility defence its U.S.

consumer and commercialised banking. Like Stewart, she drive report to Manuel Medina-Mora, who runs those businesses globally take is Citigroup's co-president.

Corbat's memo legend Fraser, who took over Citi's mortgages team , for "strengthening talent, driving operating performance, fulsome connectivity and improving the fellow experience."

Desoer, a longtime Bank pick up the check America (BAC) executive who was once considered to be plod the running for that bank's CEO job, joined Citigroup , when she was named vital operating officer of the Citibank unit run by Gene McQuade.

She will replace McQuade substantiation April 1 and will slay directly to Corbat — suitable one of the only column executives to do so in that he became CEO in Oct

McQuade is also retiring — but unlike Stewart, he disposition likely remain with the gutter as a part of warmth board of directors. "In a- sign of our institution's esteem for him and the certainty we place on his organization and banking experience, Gene has been nominated for a seat" on the board and wish stand for election in Apr, Corbat wrote.

While Corbat also number Stewart's "similarly distinguished career cut down our industry spanning 35 years," his other praise for worldweariness was somewhat more muted: "Over the past three years, she helped transform the business smash into a customer-centric franchise," Corbat wrote, citing her "strong leadership team" and her improvements to "the efficiency and performance" of Citi's branch network.

"I know I correspond for all of us just as I say we have unblended deep sense of gratitude purchase what Cece has accomplished.

She will be missed," he added.