May 19, 2008

Citi to eliminate £1.5bn of IT costs in overhaul

Three year plan will see move to global IT platforms

By Leo King

Citigroup, the beleaguered bank, is attempting to cut £1.5 billion of annual IT costs as it overhauls its business.

The company, which reported a £2.3 billion loss in the last quarter, said it was examining ways to use IT platforms across the business, replacing a range of complex legacy software particular to each part of its business. The moves would make it “set an example” in operational efficiency, the company said.

The IT cost cuts are targeted within three years and represent a fifth of the £7.5 billion overall cost cuts being made across the business, much of which is expected through moves such as job losses and asset disposals.

Don Callahan, chief administrative officer, said he was “confident” that developments in technology and IT service provision would help Citigroup meet the targets. The bank would use a number of key platforms across the business, he said, and would bring in IT service firms to help it achieve those savings.

“That’s something we don’t have a heritage of, and something that’s going to shift in the model,” he said. The company is also looking for better results from its application development.

Citigroup said its complex IT setup was the result of the way it had been created and had evolved into a number of different businesses, such as credit cards, consumer banking, investment banking, and wealth management, each with its own set of systems. It was formed in 1998 from the merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group, and the company currently has £1.1 trillion of assets.

Last week, Citigroup created the post of chief innovation officer, who will focus on operational efficiency and collaboration. Deborah Hopkins, previously the company’s chief operations and technology officer, will take the post.

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