Citi has named Chris Laskowski as head of its financial entrepreneurs group and chief operating officer for global banking in the Asia Pacific region.

Laskowski is not new to Citi Asia and is known to have established the bank's financial sponsors group in the region before he left for Chicago in 2008. He's been with the Asia franchise since 1999. The move had him serving as managing director, covering Midwest banking and private equity deals.

In his return to Asia, he will be a member of the Asia Pacific banking management committee, in addition to his new roles. He will also have a bigger say in the recruitment and direction of Citi's global banking operations in the region. He reports to Farhan Faruqui, the head of global banking for Asia Pacific, and Brad Coleman, the global head of Citi's financial entrepreneurs group.

"The financial sponsor community is an important set of clients for Citi, creating opportunities for us to leverage our global network and provide a full range of products and services," said Faruqui.

"The growth prospects of Asia Pacific bring with it a need to further build out a dynamic and experienced management team and we are delighted that Chris has decided to return to Asia and add to our management bench strength."

The bank said it will be announcing several hires to bolster the financial sponsors unit in the next months.