Jane Fraser To Succeed Michael Corbat In Historic CEO Change At Citigroup

Citigroup Inc C shares traded higher on Thursday after the company announced the historic appointment of its first female CEO.

What Happened: Citigroup announced President and CEO of Global Consumer Banking Jane Fraser will replace Michael Corbat as CEO in February of 2021.

Why It’s Important: Not only will Fraser be Citi’s first female CEO, she will also become the first female CEO of any U.S. megabank.

Fraser will have big shoes to fill replacing Corbat, who has held the CEO position at Citigroup for the past eight years. Since Corbat took over the position in 2012, Citi shares are up more than 40%.

Fraser has been with Citigroup for 16 years, and she currently oversees all of Citi’s consumer businesses in 19 different countries, including Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Credit Cards, Mortgages and the associated Operations and Technology

“I will do everything I can to make all of our stakeholders proud of our firm as we continue to build a better bank and improve our returns,” she said in a statement.

Benzinga’s Take: Fraser is the latest in a wave of new female CEOs of high-profile companies. In May, Fortune reported there are now a record 37 female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and Fraser will join the ranks in early 2021.

Citigroup shares have been under pressure in 2020 as net interest margins have come under pressure thanks to emergency Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

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Photo: "Jane Fraser on Her Path to CEO of Citi Latin America" via Americas Society/Council of the Americas