Prince to head global investment at Citi, while Weill apologises

Charles Prince has been appointed chairman and chief executive of the global corporate and investment bank (GCIB) of Citigroup. His risk management responsibility will be assumed by Robert Willumstad.

Prince, who is currently chief operating officer, said: “I will focus my immediate attention on making sure the practices and procedures we have in place set the standard for integrity and professionalism in our industry and provide a solid foundation for the GCIB’s continued growth.”

Alongside risk, Willumstad - president of Citigroup and chairman and chief executive of its global consumer group - will assume Prince’s responsibilities for legal, compliance, operations and technology.

Meanwhile Citigroup’s chief financial officer Todd Thomson, who previously reported to Prince, will now report directly to Sandy Weill, chairman and chief executive of Citigroup.

“There are certain industry practices that we should all be concerned about, and although we have found nothing illegal, we can see that certain of our activities do not reflect the way we believe business should be done,” Weill said. “That should never be the case, and I am sorry for that,” he added.

Weill acknowledged that Mike Carpenter, Prince’s predecessor, had played a key role in developing new controls and standards at Citi and said that he expected Prince to build on these achievements.