Rana Talwar, Citicorp's head of retail banking in North America and Europe, has resigned to become head of corporate banking in India, Pakistan, Africa and the Middle East for Britain's Standard Chartered Bank PLC.
Mr. Talwar, 48 years old, has been a rising star at the nation's second-largest bank, though almost exclusively on the consumer side. After joining the company in 1969, he worked briefly in corporate banking, before switching to retail banking and rising steadily through the company's ranks.
Mr. Talwar will join the board of the big British bank and be responsible for human resources. But despite the high level of his new post, his Citicorp colleagues have expressed surprise that he is returning to corporate banking. Nevertheless, few at Citicorp, or among those who follow the bank, are surprised at Mr. Talwar's departure, which had been rumored for some time and will occur at the end of April. People familiar with the situation say he has been unhappy since early last year, when he was passed over for the job of heading retail banking world-wide in favor of William Campbell, a former Philip Morris Cos. executive with no banking experience. As part of that reorganization, Mr. Talwar, who was head of retail banking in Asia and the Pacific at the time, was promoted to head of retail banking in North America and Europe.
Mr. Talwar, who lives in Chicago and will be moving to his native India for his new job, could not be reached for comment.