Andy Sieg
A Citi-commissioned investigation into allegations about wealth management head Andy Sieg's behavior toward employees did not interview women who had made complaints, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The omission raises questions about the probe's credibility, according to the publication, which reported that investigators didn't interview some high-profile employees who left Citi after voicing concerns about Sieg.
Bloomberg reported in August that Citigroup hired the outside law firm to investigate complaints that Sieg allegedly engaged in intimidating and disparaging behavior toward staff — including reducing a male managing director to tears.
Citi has supported Sieg following the probe, which it engaged the Paul Weiss law firm to conduct. “We looked into the matter seriously and I’m very comfortable with the way we came out," Citigroup Inc. CEO Jane Fraser told Bloomberg TV last month.
The company has called Sieg a "hard-charging leader" who "transformed" the wealth unit.
Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported Wednesday that complaints from several female bankers, and an anonymous letter to Citi's board, prompted the investigation. Citi has declined to release information about the investigation's results, the publication reported.
Sieg's alleged conduct included profanity-laden rants, belittling remarks to colleagues about an executive who had left the room, and referring to someone's work as “pathetic” in front of the individual and others, Bloomberg reported in August, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Current and former staff members had complained about Sieg's alleged behavior and accused him of sidelining employees unfairly since he was named to the post in 2023, according to the news service.
The Financial Times, citing five people familiar with the situation, reported that Paul Weiss investigators didn't interview some high-profile women, including Ida Liu, the former private banking head who left Citi after butting heads with Sieg.
The article also named a nearly 40-year Citi veteran who complained about Sieg to human resources and left in 2024, and reported that an employee civil rights lawyer is representing three other women who formerly worked for the wealth division and expressed concerns but weren't contacted by the investigators. The lawyer told Financial Times that three clients who worked in Citi's wealth division plan to file legal claims.
Financial Times reported that Citi wouldn't comment on specifics but quoted the bank as saying it addresses “all internal complaints appropriately by conducting unbiased, thorough, and complete investigations,” and noted its “commitment to a workplace where everyone is treated fairly and has equal opportunity to succeed.”
The article noted that Paul Weiss has done other work for Citi besides the investigation, and quoted a Michigan State University corporate governance professor as saying it's preferable for companies to hire outside investigators with whom they don't have other business ties.
The Financial Times reported that Sieg, Liu and another woman who left the bank declined to comment, and that the Paul Weiss firm didn't respond to requests for comment.
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