Citigroup COO Anand Selva to Share Responsibility for Key Compliance Initiative Amid Regulatory Pressure

Citigroup’s Chief Operating Officer, Anand Selva, will now share oversight of the bank's critical data compliance program, according to a report by the *Financial Times*. Mr. Selva, who had been the sole leader of the team working to improve Citigroup’s compliance systems, will now co-lead these efforts alongside the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Tim Ryan.

This move comes as part of a larger effort by Citigroup to satisfy regulatory concerns about its data management practices, which have led to substantial fines in recent years. The bank’s data compliance team, which manages approximately 800 employees, will now be jointly headed by Selva and Ryan, a decision aimed at accelerating the progress of the bank’s overhaul.

In a memo obtained by *Reuters*, Citi stated, "We've been clear about our need to accelerate our progress in this (data) area and, consequently, we’ve committed to dedicating additional resources to it." This comes as the bank faces mounting pressure to improve its risk controls and ensure its compliance systems are robust enough to meet regulatory standards.

Citigroup's struggles with compliance were highlighted in July when the bank was fined $136 million for inaccurately reporting details of tens of billions of dollars in loans to regulators. This penalty is the latest in a series of compliance-related fines the organization has faced, following a notable $400 million penalty in 2020 for multiple risk management failures. Regulators had previously urged the bank to dedicate more resources to fixing these issues, citing "insufficient progress" in addressing its data management shortcomings.

The decision to appoint Ryan as co-head of the data compliance program is seen as a response to concerns that Selva had become “stretched too thin” in his current role. According to a source close to the bank, cited by the *Financial Times*, the shift acknowledges the extensive workload that Selva had been handling. The addition of Ryan is expected to "speed up the overhaul" of the bank's data systems, a crucial step in meeting the regulatory expectations set forth in previous agreements.

Citigroup had committed to a broad plan to address its data management faults in 2020. However, a Federal Reserve examination last year revealed that the bank had not made satisfactory progress, further increasing regulatory scrutiny. The latest move to expand leadership over the data program is part of Citigroup's efforts to demonstrate its commitment to compliance and regulatory transparency.

Selva, who also leads Citigroup's larger transformation initiatives, remains integral to the bank's ongoing strategy to strengthen its risk management frameworks and overall compliance posture.

By fLEXI tEAM