(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. named Flavio Figueiredo global head of foreign-exchange trading, making him the third leader in 16 months for one of the bank’s biggest businesses by revenue.

Figueiredo, 58, was most recently head of corporate sales and solutions, and will continue to support that division while the bank looks for his replacement, according to a memo to staff Tuesday. 

The 34-year Citigroup veteran takes over a currency-trading business that has snagged the No. 1 market-share ranking from Coalition Greenwich for 10 straight years. The business benefits from the bank’s deep relationships with some of the world’s biggest companies, helping chief financial officers and treasurers hedge their foreign-exchange exposure. 

The currency-trading operation “has long been a defining business of Citi — a truly global powerhouse,” Figueiredo said.

The executive assumes the top perch from Leo Arduini, who has held the position on an interim basis since Stu Staley stepped down from the role in April. Staley had only been named sole leader of the business just months earlier after his former co-head, Itay Tuchman, departed. 

Citigroup’s foreign-exchange trading division, which can trace its roots to 1897, became one of the biggest on Wall Street by capitalizing on the bank’s longstanding relationships with CFOs at Fortune 500 companies, ties forged through the firm’s sprawling treasury and trade solutions business, which moves $4 trillion a day for clients. Those contacts generate a steady stream of trades as corporate finance executives use Citigroup to help them conduct everyday treasury operations such as hedging.

Roughly 40% of firmwide trading revenue comes from corporate clients, Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser said at a conference last month, whereas competitors such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lean more heavily on hedge funds and other asset managers. 

“It gives you a more diversified flow,” the CEO said. “It’s terrific in the volatile markets as we’ve seen. And that is where we dominate is around FX, hedging and helping clients manage through the volatility for their day-to-day operations and businesses.”

Revenue Surge

Citigroup’s currency traders generated a surge in revenue last year, when the figure swelled to $6 billion on increased volatility in global foreign-exchange prices, according to a person familiar with the matter. That compared with $4.5 billion in 2021, the person said. 

That performance was in line with other top Wall Street firms. Combined currency-trading revenue for the 45 biggest firms jumped to $50 billion from $35 billion in 2021, according to Vali Analytics Ltd.

Citigroup’s market share averaged 12.5% between 2020 and 2022, according to Coalition Greenwich data provided by the bank. That was a 250 basis-point improvement from 2015, the data show.

At the same time, Citigroup has been in the midst of culling its workforce as part of a broader push by Fraser to cut costs. The firm has dismissed 5,000 workers so far this year, with the trading and investment-banking divisions bearing the brunt of the cuts. Citigroup dismantled the global team that provided commentary and analysis on foreign-exchange markets as part of the dismissals.

--With assistance from William Shaw.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.