As part of her Citi turnaround, Jane Fraser cut management layers from 13 to 8. But the ‘great flattening’ doesn’t always work as intended

When Mike Mayo, the long-time analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, reflects on the turnaround CEO Jane Fraser has engineered at Citi, one decision stands out: her restructuring of the bank into five divisions that report directly to her. 

“When you look back in 10 years, you’re likely to say this was the most powerful change made at Citi,” he said. Now, Mayo told me for a profile of Fraser in the current issue of Fortune, “there’s nowhere to hide.”

There are fewer dark corners in lower levels of the company too. As part of the overhaul, Fraser cut Citi’s layers of management from 13 to eight, a move she said at the time would result in a “simpler firm that can operate faster, better serve our clients and unlock value for our shareholders.” 

So far, it’s hard to argue with the results. Fraser is five years into her plan to remake the bank that has long been a Wall Street laggard. In April, Citi logged its highest quarterly revenue in a decade, with all five divisions recording gains. The bank’s return on tangible common equity hit 13.1% in the first quarter, the highest since 2021. Citi stock is up about 80% since Fraser took over as CEO. The comeback this week earned Fraser the top spot on Fortune’s........

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