Citigroup Names CFO, Citibank’s CEO

Citigroup Inc. said it named Todd Thomson as chief financial officer and Victor Menezes as chairman and chief executive of its Citibank North America unit, succeeding John Reed. Analysts say both Menezes and Thomson could be candidates to succeed Chairman Sanford Weill, 67, who announced this month that he will name an heir apparent within two years. Weill declined to comment on succession. Thomson, 39, has been overseeing private banking at Citibank. He succeeds Heidi Miller, who left in February to join Priceline.com Inc. Menezes, 50, will remain co-chief executive of Citigroup’s corporate and investment bank, which includes brokerage Salomon Smith Barney Inc. Menezes will also remain president of Citibank, a position he has held since 1998. Citigroup was formed in the 1998 merger of Reed’s Citicorp and Weill’s Travelers Group Inc. Since then, Reed and Weill have been chairmen and co-CEOs of the new company. Reed, 61, retires next month. Citigroup also said it reached an agreement to pay $2.4 billion to acquire the 15% of Travelers Property Casualty Corp. it doesn’t already own. The deal was approved by Travelers’ board, the companies said. On the NYSE, Citigroup rose $1.88 to close at $58.06 and Travelers Property rose $7.25 to close at $40.94.