(Reuters) – U.S. lender Citigroup is closing its global distressed-debt business as part of CEO Jane Fraser’s overhaul, CNBC reported on Wednesday citing people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Citigroup is undergoing a sweeping reorganization – including leadership changes and job cuts – in its biggest overhaul in almost two decades, as Fraser aims to take more control of key businesses to simplify the bank’s structure.
The business unit, which trades bonds and other securities of companies that are in or approaching bankruptcy, employs about 40 people, the report added.
Citigroup did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The company last week said it would close its municipal underwriting and market-making activities and unwind the unit in the first quarter, saying the economics of the business were “no longer viable” given Citigroup’s goal to boost overall returns.
(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat and Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
