Since the start of 2011, financial firms have cut more than 300,000 jobs globally.

[ by Howard Haykin ]

Citigroup fired Richard Cookson, chief investment officer of its private bank, a move the 3rd largest U.S. lender attributes to cost cutting measures. Mr. Cookson was based in London.  Citigroup has decided it will no longer rely on one person to lead the firm’s investment strategy and instead, will seek to “better leverage the existing in-house expertise across Citi” - including its markets and banking research teams.

The news was released in an internal memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

CEO Michael Corbat, 52, had said in December that Citigroup will cut about 11,000 jobs, while also shutting branches and pulling back from some emerging markets as revenue dries up at global banks. Cookson’s dismissal was part of the announced job cuts, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Cookson joined Citigroup in 2009 after working in London as head of global asset-allocation research at HSBC Holdings Plc.  He spent almost 10 years at the Economist magazine, where his roles included Japan correspondent and international finance editor, according to a profile on Citigroup’s website.

Another of Cookson's colleagues, Frank Frecentese, head of hedge-fund investments at Citigroup’s private bank, left the firm in December.  He had been in charge of picking funds that the unit’s wealthy clients could invest in. 

300,000 and Counting - Job Cuts Rising to Astronomical Levels.   Since the start of 2011, financial services firms – including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and UBS AG - have announced more than 300,000 job cuts globally, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.    [ Bloomberg 1/7/13 ]