Favila named new Citi PH CEO

Paul Favila

American banking giant Citi has picked Paul Favila, a 29-year veteran of the foreign bank as new Citi Philippines CEO and country Officer, subject to regulatory confirmation.

Favila is taking the place of Aftab Ahmed, who was appointed Citi Taiwan CEO in January.

He is currently head of markets, in charge of Citi’s foreign exchange, rates, commodities and structured solutions businesses in the Philippines, and country treasurer.

He joined Citibank in 1993 as assistant portfolio manager for Citibank Global Asset Management. He then assumed various roles in Citi Markets.

Prior to assuming responsibility for Citibank Manila’s trading business in 2004, he was part of the first batch of the Citibank Asian Tiger Program. As part of the program, Favila had spent time in the Singapore hub and Malaysia dealing rooms before heading back to Manila to lead the trading business,  which he ran for 10 years up to 2014. He was responsible for Citi’s  securities services business in the country until 2021.

Amol Gupte, Citi head of South Asia and Southeast Asia, said: “Citi just celebrated a historic 120 years in the Philippines. We remain to be the largest foreign bank in the country in terms of asset base. We have thriving institutional businesses in banking, markets and services and our Citi Solutions Center which provides voice and non-voice services to Citi affiliates, subsidiaries, and branches around the globe. We are excited to see how Paul’s leadership will help take the franchise forward.”

Favila said, “I am deeply honored by the trust placed on me by Citi. We are excited by the economic opportunities that abound in this country and will continue to focus on enabling growth and progress in the Philippines. As we have done in the  past 120 years, we will bring the full power of Citi’s global network in delivering excellent service to our clients. I look forward to leading our 7,000-strong franchise into the next era of global business.”