Citi CEO Jane Fraser on the next phase of her turnaround: To be the best, Citi has ‘to beat the best’

Citigroup’s turnaround is still showing up in the numbers. The bank posted its best third-quarter revenue in a decade, and CEO Jane Fraser used a Fortune summit appearance to argue that the real test now is whether Citi can keep improving once the hardest restructuring work is behind it.

Fraser, who became CEO in 2021, has spent that time stripping complexity out of a sprawling global bank. Citi has been reorganized into five core businesses, layers of management have been cut, and the company has started pulling out of consumer banking in 14 markets outside the U.S. The overhaul also includes 20,000 job cuts that are scheduled to finish before 2027.

Her message is not just about cost-cutting. Fraser framed the next phase as an exercise in standards: if Citi wants to be the best in its businesses, it has to beat the best. She paired that with a blunt management style she traces back to earlier restructuring work in Citi’s mortgage business. People want the hard truth, she said, but they also want to know what the company will do to help them. Straight talk, not theatrics.

AI is now the next big pressure point. Fraser said the technology can help Citi make money, save money and secure the bank, but only if it moves quickly without blowing up trust. Citi has built an AI avatar for its wealth business with help from Google DeepMind’s team, and it can speak with clients at any hour. Still, Fraser stressed that it is not a replacement for a human banker.

Whether AI reduces Citi’s headcount remains unclear. Fraser said there will be both additions and automation, and she also pushed the industry line on cyber risk: banks can compete in business, but not on security. For that, they have to collaborate. Citi now requires AI training for 175,000 employees, with prompt writing at the center, because fear is bad for performance and speed is now part of the job.