Citi's Tom King to quit after 20 years of service

Attributing to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal said that Tom King, one of Citigroup's top executives in Europe, is leaving the US banking giant after 20 years there and would likely take a senior position at Barclays Plc's investment bank.

King, is Citigroup's London-based head of corporate and investment banking and capital markets for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Quoting people familiar with the matter, the publication said, King is expected to help Barclays build out its investment-banking franchise in Europe, but cautioned that it is not yet certain that he would join Barclays.

Citing an internal memo, the daily said he would leave the company "to pursue other interests." David Wormsley, one of Citi's top UK bankers, would serve as interim head.

King had started with Salomon Brothers, which later became a Citi unit, in 1989. A former global head of mergers and acquisitions at the bank, he moved to London in 2000 following Citi's purchase of Schroders Plc's investment banking arm, the report said.

For Citi, King's departure is the latest in a string of defections it has suffered in its investment-banking ranks on both sides of the Atlantic, The WSJ said.

Citi was forced to sell a 34 per cent stake to the US, which the government still holds even as rivals like Goldman Sachs Group and JP Morgan Chase & Co have repaid theirs. Citi is working on a plan to lower the government's stake in the bank.