An outside review of Citigroup Inc.'s management team has concluded that it is generally in good shape but that some shuffling of senior executives might be in order, according to people familiar with the matter.
The review, conducted this summer for Citigroup's board by recruiting and consulting firm Egon Zehnder International, was triggered by the U.S. government's stress tests of top banks last spring. Companies found to need more capital were required to conduct assessments of their management and report the findings to federal regulators.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which has harbored concerns about the qualifications of Chief Executive Vikram Pandit and his top management team, required that Citigroup hire an outside firm to perform the review.
Egon Zehnder's report, delivered to Citigroup's board on Friday, awarded strong overall marks to Citigroup's management team and to Pandit in particular, according to the people familiar with the matter.
The report provided less-favorable assessments of at least two members of Pandit's inner circle, Vice Chairman Lewis Kaden and Chief Administrative Officer Don Callahan, the people said.
Kaden's responsibilities include Citigroup's legal, human-resources and government-relations departments. Callahan is in charge of the bank's operations and technology.
Citigroup's board met Tuesday morning to start discussing the findings and how to respond to them. The meeting didn't yield any final decisions. The options include removing certain executives and reassigning or clarifying their job responsibilities, according to people familiar with the process.
It's also possible that Citigroup will decide not to make any management changes.
A Citigroup spokesman declined to comment. Callahan and Kaden weren't immediately available to comment.
