Raymond Gatcliffe, the head of Citigroup's commercial bank in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will replace Richard Banziger, who is retiring after 38 years with the company.

Recognizing that many of the region's consumers are choosing startups, companies like Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Santander and Scotiabank are taking stakes in nascent payment providers.

Overall the company reported fourth-quarter profits of $3.17 billion, which fell short of analysts' forecasts as borrowing declined on Citi-branded cards, fixed-income trading tumbled and one-time charges mounted.

Citigroup is offloading its consumer-banking businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam as CEO Jane Fraser continues her push to simplify the New York-based bank.

The largest U.S. banks have made progress in detailing the risks posed by climate change, but it's clear the industry will have to do more. As federal regulators prepare to impose new obligations, banks are pushing back against calls for more aggressive measures such as capital requirements and increased risk weighting for fossil-fuel lending.

The measure bans banks that discriminate against gunmakers from entering into government contracts. Citigroup, which supporters of the law were targeting, has lost market share while Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have gained ground.

The announcement came a day after Citigroup said it would mandate vaccines for many of its workers. Capital One also said it is delaying its office reopening.

It may seem odd that Citigroup has created an online lending platform that matches small businesses with minority-run and other banks for no financial benefit. Yet company executives and observers say it makes sense.

The deal would mark a first step in Chief Executive Jane Fraser’s plan to exit 13 retail markets across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East.

BlackRock and other major financial institutions are working on plans to accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants in Asia in a bid to phase out the use of the worst man-made contributors to climate change.