LONDON - Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have lost two senior executives in their foreign exchange businesses as the industry continues to grapple with a series of investigations into potential manipulation of the currency markets.
Anil Prasad, who has served as global head of Citigroup’s foreign exchange and local markets operations since 2008, is leaving the bank to “pursue other interests,†according to an internal memo reviewed by DealBook.
Steven Cho, the global head of Group of 10 nations spot and forward trading at Goldman Sachs in New York, is retiring from the investment bank, according to a person briefed on the matter.
It is not unusual for executives thinking of making a change to leave at this time of year.
The prior year’s bonus compensation has already been paid out and banks, looking to cull their executive ranks, often encourage older or underperforming employees to move if they’re not in a company’s future plans.
“Anil informs me that he has been considering this for some time, and feels the time is right for him to move on to the next stage of his career,†wrote Paco Ybarra, Citigroup’s global head of markets and securities services, in the memo.
He will leave the post in March and his successor is expected to be named in the coming weeks, according to the memo.
Mr. Prasad started with Citigroup in 1986 and, minus a three-year stint with Natwest Capital Markets, had been with the bank for the majority of his career.
“Anil’s decision is his own and entirely unrelated to the on-going FX investigations,†a person familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Cho joined Goldman in 1996 in London and later relocated to New York. He has been a partner at the bank since 2010.
Still, the departures come at a time when many of the world’s largest banks, including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, have acknowledged that they are facing inquiries from regulators in Britain, the United States and other parts of the world regarding potential manipulation of the $5-trillion-a-day currency markets.
New York’s financial regulator, Benjamin M. Lawsky, has begun his own investigation into whether more than a dozen banks manipulated the price of foreign currencies. Mr. Lawsky recently sent the banks â€" including Credit Suisse, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered â€" a request for documents about the suspected manipulation.
Mr. Lawsky, known for taking a hard line with Wall Street in past investigations, is the first state regulator to scrutinize the currency trading. His jurisdiction covers any bank operating with a New York State charter.
On Tuesday, the chief executive of Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, Martin Wheatley, said that the foreign exchange manipulation allegations are “every bit as bad as they have been with Libor.â€
Banks have paid billions of dollars of fines in the past two years stemming from the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, and other global benchmark interest rates.
More than a dozen currency traders at some of the world’s largest banks, including Barclays, UBS and JPMorgan Chase, have been placed on leave over questions about whether they colluded to manipulate benchmark currency rates.
Deutsche Bank, the largest player in the currency trading market with about a 15.2 percent share, fired the head of its emerging markets foreign exchange trading desk in New York and two traders this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In January, Citigroup fired the head of its European spot currency trading desk after he was placed on leave last year.
Neither the banks nor any of the traders who have been suspended or fired have been accused of wrongdoing.
Ben Protess contributed to this article.
