The appointee has over 20 years of experience in Asia at Citi.

Citi has appointed Lin Hai (pictured) as head of Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) for China. 

In this role, Hai will oversee all business and operations for CCB China and will be responsible for driving CCB China’s operations, and financial performance, including fostering key client and regulatory relationships, the firm said in a statement.

Hai reports to Gunjan Kalra, head of Citi Commercial Bank for Asia North, Australia & Asia South clusters and Luke Lu, Citi country officer and head of banking for China.

Hai joined Citi as a treasury management associate in 2002. Over the past 20 plus years at Citi, he has worked in various roles within the markets business in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China. Most recently, he was head of corporate sales and solutions in markets for mainland China and Hong Kong, increasing business growth in these geographies and leading various initiatives and activities.

“China is a key market for Citi Commercial Bank globally. We are dedicated to supporting fast-growing emerging corporates with aspirations to expand their business regionally and internationally through our global network and strong knowledge of local markets,” Kalra said. “I am confident that under Lin Hai’s leadership, our business will continue gaining momentum.” 

Given Citigroup's integrated business model, the corporate banking side of the lender typically works closely with the private banking arm, in light of the fact that many high net worth and ultra-HNW clients own operating companies.

Joy Cheng was also recently appointed as head of CCB for Hong Kong in February, succeeding Anson Kwok who retired in January. See more commentary here.

In Asia, CCB serves clients in 11 markets including Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.