Citigroup announced that Jane Fraser would succeed Michael Corbat as the bank’s next chief executive, making Fraser the first woman to ever lead a Wall Street bank.
Fraser, 53, is currently head of Citi’s global consumer banking division, a major part of the bank that includes checking and savings accounts but also Citi’s massive credit card business. She’s been with Citi for 16 years.
Fraser will be the first woman to lead one of Wall Street’s big six banks. JPMorgan Chase head Jamie Dimon has had women in senior roles for years, and recently elevated its chief financial officer Marianne Lake to the head of the firms’ consumer lending operation. Nonetheless, Dimon shows no signs of stepping down from his CEO role.
Last year, during congressional testimony none of the CEOs of the nation’s six largest banks, which included Dimon and Corbat, raised their hand when asked if they believed they would be succeed by a woman or a person of color.
Corbat led Citigroup for eight years, rebuilding the company after it nearly collapsed during the Great Recession and 2008 financial crisis. The federal government had to step in to buy a stake in Citi to keep it afloat, and the New York bank had some of the most toxic assets of all the major banks during this time.
Corbat turned Citi into a much smaller and stable entity, focusing on its credit card businesses and its international banking franchise. Now 60, he plans to retire in February of next year, Citi said, at which point Fraser will step into the CEO role.
Fraser will also join Citi’s board of directors, effective immediately, Citi said.