US banking group Citi is bringing seven Central and Eastern European markets under a single leadership team, creating an enlarged region covering Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

Elzbieta Czetwertynska, chief executive of Citi's Polish arm, will lead the newly established region while continuing in her role as CEO of Citi Handlowy, which is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. She will report to Nacho Gutierrez-Orrantia, CEO of Citi Europe.

Defence, energy and infrastructure drive the move

Citi said rising trade and investment flows and demand for financing in defence, energy and infrastructure made Central and Eastern Europe a growth opportunity. "This enhanced structure will strengthen our presence, bring greater scale and connectivity to our operations and position us to accelerate our growth across this dynamic region," Gutierrez-Orrantia said. "As CEE economies become increasingly integrated into global markets, the opportunity for us to deepen our presence and capture growing cross border flows is huge."

Citi's Bulgaria head, Stanislava Taneva, will report to Czetwertynska and oversee 11 more markets in Southeast Europe and the Baltics. Citi employs 11,500 people across the seven Central and Eastern European markets, serving corporations, governments, investors and institutions. The group provides financial products and services in more than 180 countries and jurisdictions, and the new structure is designed to help it win more cross-border business as trade and investment flows grow across the region. SeeNews reported the announcement from Citi's press release, and The Diplomat Bucharest confirmed the appointment.