US regulators had pressurised Citi to replace CFO: Report

Financial behemoth Citigroup was under pressure from US regulators to replace its chief financial officer Ned Kelly, says a media report.

"US regulators put direct pressure on Citigroup to replace its finance chief only weeks before his surprise departure...," The Financial Times has reported, attributing to a confidential agreement.     

According to the daily, the document would confirm investors' belief that the replacement of Ned Kelly by Citi veteran John Gerspach in July after less than four months in the job had been triggered by regulators.     

"It also emphasises the extent of the authorities' involvement in the internal workings of Citi, which recently ceded a 34 per cent stake to the government," the report added.     

As per a late-June agreement with its main regulators- the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Citi said it would consider whether to replace its chief financial officer before October.     

The report quoting people near to the situation said Kelly tendered his resignation on hearing of the agreement, prompting Citi to offer him another role and to promote Gerspach.     

"The changes were made public on July 9, a week before Citi's second-quarter results," it added.