Citi Digital Assets Exec Shobhit Maini Reportedly Leaving Bank’s Market Unit

The head of digital assets for Citi’s markets unit is reportedly stepping down.

Shobhit Maini, who has held that job since 2021, is leaving the banking giant after more than 14 years, Reuters reported Tuesday (Aug. 13), citing an internal memo.

That memo, from Lee Smallwood, Citi’s head of markets innovation and investments, said Maini is leaving to follow an entrepreneurial opportunity in the digital asset sector. Deepak Mehra, currently Citi’s international lead for the markets’ units strategic investments, will now also oversee digital assets for the markets unit, the memo said.

Citi’s digital asset efforts include a partnership earlier this year with Wellington Management and WisdomTree to explore the tokenization of private markets.

As PYMNTS reported, this collaboration successfully completed a proof of concept on the Avalanche Spruce institutional test Subnet, showing the potential of smart-contract capabilities to provide new functionality and operational efficiencies.

“Private markets, which represent a $10 trillion asset class, have long been plagued by complex and manual infrastructure, a lack of standardization and limited transparency,” that report said. “These factors have resulted in inefficient distribution and operations. The proof of concept aimed to address these challenges by leveraging blockchain technology and smart contracts.”

Citi last year created an application that uses blockchain to execute foreign exchange (FX) trades, employing blockchain infrastructure to price and perform bilateral spot FX trades. Also in 2023,Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions unveiled a digital asset tool to enhance cash management and trade finance capabilities.

In other Citi news, PYMNTS spoke with Ambrish Bansal, global head of liquidity and cash concentration products, for the Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, about the changing role of the treasury department.

The rise of instant payments and the connected economy, Bansal told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in an interview posted on Tuesday, can help pull the most value from financial interactions, turning cash flow forecasting from a simple “point in time” exercise to a fluid, real-time effort.

However, that report noted, the demands of faster payments means that businesses need to integrate advanced payment processing systems and have real-time cash flow monitoring systems in place to make those treasury functions more dynamic.

“Many treasurers are thinking, ‘Well, how can I extract that last ounce of juice from my financial ecosystem?’” Bansal said.