By Lananh Nguyen

NEW YORK Paco Ybarra, the CEO of Citigroup's institutional clients group, will leave in the first half of next year, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

The 36-year Citi veteran leads the Wall Street firm's banking, markets and services businesses. He helped to establish it as a "powerhouse in fixed income," CEO Jane Fraser wrote in a memo to staff.

Ybarra joined Citi in Madrid in 1987 as a management associate and subsequently worked in Mexico, Singapore, London and New York. He led some of its most important businesses, including markets and securities services.

"A picture of grace under fire, Paco helped Citi navigate some of our industry’s most challenging moments," Fraser wrote, including the Mexican peso crisis in 1994, the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic.

The company is determining how to pass on his responsibilities while simplifying its organizational structure in the coming months, according to the memo.

(Reporting by Lananh Nguyen; Editing by Mark Porter and Nick Zieminski)