The chief executive of the US private banking arm of Citi, John Longley, has departed after 21 months in the role, it confirmed to WealthBriefing.

Mr Longley will be replaced by two co-heads from within the business: Richard Ditizio, who was previously head of Citi’s Private Bank High Net Worth Group; and Mark Connolly, previously head of lending for Citi Global Wealth Management.

Citi rolled its private bank into Citicorp, one of two businesses, the other being Citi Holdings, as part of the restructuring it recently announced after its disappointing fourth quarter results.

Citicorp contains the Institutional Clients Group and the Alternative Investments business, while Citi Holdings contains Citi’s brokerage and asset management, local consumer, and a special asset pool business.

It is not yet clear whether Mr Longley has landed a leadership role at another firm. Before becoming the CEO of Citi’s US Private Bank in April 2007, Mr Longley was a divisional director in the international operations of Citi's Smith Barney brokerage.

Globally, Citi Private Bank employs approximately 470 private bankers and 290 product specialists in more than 30 countries.

Citi’s private bank ranked second-best global private bank in Euromoney’s 2008 private banking poll.