Analysis-Citi's banking head drives turnaround with more executives, deals, cooperation

By Tatiana Bautzer

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Viswas Raghavan’s hiring spree and push for more internal cooperation are helping Citigroup’s investment banking business climb the Wall Street rankings, according to sources, analysts and public data.

Since he joined from JPMorgan Chase last year, the head of Citi’s banking group has added more than a dozen star bankers from rivals and is requiring executives to collaborate across business lines to generate more deals and other opportunities, the people said.

Improving the performance of Citi’s investment banking business – currently ranked fifth overall on Wall Street – is a keystone in CEO Jane Fraser’s turnaround strategy for the global banking giant.

Two recruiting sources said Citigroup is offering multimillion-dollar pay packages to attract