Citigroup is ramping up its investment banking operations across the Asia-Pacific region. On August 20, Kaustubh Kulkarni, head of the bank's Asia-Pacific investment banking division, revealed in an interview that Citigroup has recruited 10 senior bankers in the region so far this year, with plans to continue expanding the team and adding more talent in the coming months.

However, while actively bolstering its ranks, Citigroup's Asia-Pacific investment banking unit is also facing a significant drain of core talent. Last week, it was reported that Alexander Schrantz, head of corporate finance for North Asia, Australia, and South Asia at Citigroup, would depart the firm to join Goldman Sachs. Earlier, in March, Jan Metzger, co-head of the bank's Asia-Pacific investment banking business, left to take on the role of head of global coverage banking at Standard Chartered.

Citigroup has been steadily pushing forward with its global investment banking expansion in recent years, identifying the Asia-Pacific market as a key growth region. Nevertheless, from a market share perspective, its Asia-Pacific operations are still in a recovery phase. Data indicates that Citigroup's ranking in Asian equity issuance underwriting has slipped from first place in 2024 to seventh place this year.

Against this backdrop, Citigroup's continued push to hire more talent signals a clear intent: by enlarging its senior banker team, the bank aims to strengthen client coverage across key markets such as Japan, North Asia, Australia, and South Asia, while vying to reclaim market share in equity financing, mergers and acquisitions, and other capital markets activities.