Citigroup shortens promotion timeline for junior investment banking staff to counter private equity poaching.

Citigroup is shortening the time it takes for investment banking analysts to be promoted to manager, one of the bank's efforts to attract and retain top talent in a competitive job market. Private equity firms are actively poaching from Wall Street. David Friedland, co-head of Citigroup's North American investment bank, said in an interview that the move will cut the analyst stage for junior investment banking employees from three years to two, accelerating their advancement at the company while aligning Citigroup's arrangement with some competitors. The idea behind the adjustment is that a shorter promotion cycle can allow Citigroup's junior investment banking employees to take on more responsibilities faster and earn higher pay, thereby reducing their willingness to accept job offers from other institutions, including rival banks, private market investment firms and hedge funds. The move has once again sparked discussions that emerged last year about how to retain junior investment banking employees. At that time, as private equity firms moved up their recruiting cycles, executives at several banks objected. At JPMorgan, some employees who had just joined only days earlier were found skipping the company's mandatory onboarding training to attend private equity interviews in preparation for their next job.