NEW YORK -- Citigroup Inc., in its latest internal reorganization, plans to overhaul the structure of the capital-markets business within its investment bank, according to people familiar with the matter.
Under the new structure, the capital-markets group, which includes Citigroup's equity and fixed-income traders, is expected to be organized geographically, as well as along the current product lines, the people said. The change could be announced internally next week.
In March, Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit - seeking to get a handle on the sprawling company - devised a new structure that featured regional CEOs as well as New York-based business heads. Since then, various units around the word - most recently, Citigroup's Asia-Pacific business - have adopted similar structures.
The theory behind the so-called matrix structure is that it allows for better on-the-ground delivery of financial products while promoting global management of risk and capital. But some executives say the new structures have blurred reporting lines and sparked conflicts among regional executives and product managers.
The planned setup for the capital-markets business is the handiwork of John Havens, who runs Citigroup's institutional clients group and is a longtime colleague of Pandit.
In the reorganized capital-markets group, regional executives and product managers are expected to report to James Forese and Paco Ybarra, who will be the group's co-heads. Until now, Forese had been the division's sole leader, while Ybarra was responsible for the fixed-income, currencies and commodities group within the investment bank.
The anticipated arrangement is raising questions among Citigroup officials about the future of Forese, whose job duties and titles have repeatedly changed over the past year.
