Citi’s hiring of Blanco comes as the bank is retooling its risk management, data governance and internal controls in light of a $400 million fine the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) levied against it in October. The bank said last year it would integrate its anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions and anti-bribery teams into a new financial crimes unit, according to Bloomberg.
Generally, financial institutions wait until a regulator is out of office before hiring. Citi, however, knows the OCC and the Federal Reserve are both watching personnel moves intensely and that the OCC reserves the right to make changes to the bank’s senior management if it thinks Citi is moving too slowly.
