Citigroup Appoints Former JPMorgan Veteran as Co-Head of M&A Division

Citigroup has appointed Guillermo Baygual, a veteran banker with over 25 years at JPMorgan Chase, as co-head of its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division. Baygual, who previously served as global co-head of JPMorgan's infrastructure and strategic investors group, will collaborate with Drago Rajkovic, another former JPMorgan executive who joined Citi in June, to lead the M&A division. (reuters.com)

This strategic hire is part of Citigroup's broader initiative to bolster its investment banking capabilities under the leadership of Viswas Raghavan, a former JPMorgan executive who joined Citi in 2024. Raghavan has been instrumental in recruiting top talent from industry rivals, including Achintya Mangla, now Citi's head of financing for investment banking; Aloke Gupte and Alex Watkins, leading equity capital markets; and Sidharth Punshi, overseeing financial sponsors and alternative assets across EMEA. (ft.com)

Citigroup's CEO, Jane Fraser, has expressed confidence in the bank's M&A pipeline, noting that the firm is advising on seven of the year's ten largest investment banking transactions. In the first half of 2025, Citigroup ranked fourth globally for M&A revenue and fifth in overall investment banking revenue, according to Dealogic data. (reuters.com)

The appointment of Baygual and other strategic hires come amid expectations of a revival in dealmaking activity later this year, as companies begin to look beyond economic uncertainties such as tariffs and antitrust challenges. Citigroup has been actively expanding its team, including the recent addition of Pankaj Goel from JPMorgan to co-lead its technology investment banking division. (reuters.com)

This appointment reflects Citigroup's commitment to enhancing its position in the competitive investment banking sector by attracting top talent from industry rivals.