Some of the bank's longest serving senior figures are departing while its Swiss head is relocating back to the US.

The country officer for Switzerland at Citigroup, Kristine Braden, is heading westward to work as chief of staff alongside the lender’s chief executive, Mike Corbat, this publication can confirm.

Braden, who had held her Swiss role from April 2015, was also leader of the US banking giant’s corporate and investment banking groups in the Alpine state. In all, she has worked in a variety of Citigroup roles for more than 20 years. From 2009 to 2012, for example, she headed the bank’s Philippines business. Her time in Switzerland saw her take on a number of roles in the country’s banking industry community, such as board president at the AFBS Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland, and president of Advance – Women in Swiss Business, according to her public profile.

The move means that Braden will take over from Sara Wechter, who in April this year became Citigroup’s head of human resources. This publication has asked Citigroup about Braden’s replacement for the Swiss job, and will update in due course.

The announcement of the changes, made in an internal memo seen by this publication, also stated that three top-rank figures have decided to step down. 

Jim Cowles, a 39-year veteran of the firm, is leaving to set up a not-for-profit organization. He will be leaving at the end of the year, once the selection process for his successor is completed, the memo said.

John Gerspach has decided to retire from Citigroup on March 1, 2019. He originally joined the Finance team in 1990 and has worked in a number of regions, rising to the posts of controller and then chief financial officer. Gerspach will be succeeded by Mark Mason, a 17-year veteran of the bank. Mason started in a strategy role and served as the CEO of Citi Holdings and then the private bank. Since 2014 Mason has been the CFO of the institutional clients group and is also responsible for its CCAR submission. 

Bill Mills will retire from Citigroup at the end of the year – he has worked at the bank for 36 years, having initially come on board via Smith Barney, a business integrated into Citigroup in 1982. He was the chief executive for EMEA during the 2008 financial crisis, and returned to the US as North America CEO.