Citigroup to re-focus on equities

Citigroup plans to rebuild its long-neglected equities franchise seeking to capitalise on a retrenchment by rivals in the face of new rules designed to make the financial system less risky, according to people familiar with the bank’s plans.

A lack of investment in equities and a traditional focus on bond trading kept the third largest US bank in the lower echelons of equities league tables, which measure how much revenue Wall Street banks earn from their equity trading units.

It will be tough to dislodge leaders such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase & Co, that have long dominated the business.