Citigroup has hired a pair of executives from Morgan Stanley to run its U.S. consumer and commercial banking division.
The move comes after two years of declining residential production at the bank. In the second quarter, for example, CitiMortgage's loan volume fell 61%, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report. It was the largest decliner among the top 20 funders.
Cecelia Stewart was hired to oversee retail banking, personal banking, wealth management, and other areas. She is scheduled to join Citi in the next few months.
Along with Stewart comes Will Howle, who will serve as chief operating officer for consumer and commercial banking, reporting to Stewart. He had worked as managing director and head of national sales for Morgan Stanley's private bank.
Stewart has more than 30 years of experience in the consumer-banking industry, most recently serving as president of the retail banking group and the chief executive at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, where she oversaw development of all consumer, commercial and wealth-management products and services. Before that, she had held several senior banking positions at Wachovia.
