Robert Binney, one of the legends of the London custody scene, is to retire on Friday. In a memorandum to staff issued yesterday, managing director Dave Phillips told stunned staff in the Global Transaction Services division at Citigroup that Binney is retiring on Friday 21 October 2005, having reached the age of 60.
Binney joined Citigroup nearly ten years ago after leaving the then Chase Manhattan Bank over differences in strategy and personalities. Somewhat against the odds, he built a second formidable career for himself at Citi.
“Robert has played a significant role within Global Transaction Services,” Phillips wrote to staff. “Under his leadership, we have had considerable success in the market and seen much growth and this is in no small way, due to the excellent relationships we have developed with our major clients and the teamwork which has been developed over the years.”
Binnet joined Citibank in 1996 to lead the development of new securities services business in EMEA. In February last year, he was appointed Head of Global Client Development for Global Transaction Services. Previous roles within Citigroup included Managing Director and Head of Sales and Account Management in Europe, Middle East and Africa for the Cross-Border custody business of Citibank’s Global Securities Services.
Following an MA in Engineering from Cambridge University and an MBA from Manchester Business School, Binney joined Chase Manhattan Bank, where he held various roles within the securities industry in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo as well as London.