Citigroup’s equities-trading business long lagged behind its powerhouse fixed-income operations.
Photo:
Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg News
Dan Keegan,
a top
Citigroup Inc.
C -1.31%
markets executive, is leaving the bank to start an investment fund focused on financial-technology companies, according to an internal memo.
Mr. Keegan held several roles helping build up Citigroup’s equities-trading business over 15 years. Most recently, he was the head of all North American markets, a statesmanlike role serving as the bank’s representative to top clients.
Citigroup’s equities-trading business long lagged behind its powerhouse fixed-income operations, and the bank faced pressure from investors to prove the business was pulling its weight. The bank has climbed to fifth place in market share for equities.
Mr. Keegan joined Citigroup when the bank acquired Automated Trading Desk, the company he helped lead, in 2007. At Citigroup, he rose to co-head of global equities and later helped lead a since-scrapped effort to combine its equities and securities-services businesses to boost client demand.
He pushed new technology for trading operations. He has also been part of the response to regulatory orders issued in late 2020 pushing Citigroup to improve its internal systems, an expansive effort the bank is betting on technology to help.
That put him in the center of the bank’s conversations with technology startups. Fintech companies attracted $210 billion in new investments last year, according to KPMG.
Citigroup named
Mike Saraceni,
who leads investor sales and relationship management for North America, as interim head of the region. The bank will launch a search for his replacement, according to the memo from the global markets co-heads
Carey Lathrop
and
Andy Morton.
Write to David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com
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Appeared in the March 12, 2022, print edition as ‘Citigroup’s Keegan Leaves to Start Fund.’
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