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Naveed Riaz has been named head of Citigroup’s emerging markets SME business. Riaz will report to Suneel Bakhshi, head of emerging markets corporate banking. In this role, he will oversee Citigroup’s global effort to bring the benefits of the bank’s corporate and consumer products and services to the SME segment.


To ensure that the bank coordinates its efforts to grow this business, regional heads of the SME business will report to Riaz as well as to both the regional GCIB business head and the regional consumer business head on a dotted line basis. Country SME heads will report to CCOs and to regional SME heads.
Most recently, Riaz was the global head of Citigroup’s trade business, a part of Global Transaction Services in the global corporate and investment banking unit (GCIB). Before that, he was the head of Citigroup’s pperations and technology for the international business. From 1999-2001, Riaz was responsible for strategic planning and business development in the emerging markets group preceded by a three-year stint as the division head responsible for corporate and investment banking business in Latin America North.


He joined the firm in 1979.


Over the last several months, Citigroup has spent time developing a joint strategy to target small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets, an enormous market segment that represents a significant business opportunity for Citigroup worldwide.