Bankers at Citi’s Asian headquarters in Hong Kong were stunned when Jeremy Amias, managing director and head of fixed income, currencies and commodities for the region, resigned late in August to join Noble Group, a Hong Kong-based supply chain manager of commodities and other resources products, as chief operating officer – finance.
"The first we knew about it was when Noble sent out a press release on Friday night and Bloomberg picked it up," says a Citi employee. "Some of Jeremy’s staff went into shock."
Amias has been with Citi for more than 23 years, so it is natural that his abrupt resignation should cause some consternation, particularly since it comes at a time when global investment banks, Citi included, are beginning to suffer losses from the credit crunch that began in the US. Amias himself is keen to calm frayed Citi nerves.
"There’s no story to this at all," he says. "My leaving is very friendly and I’m looking forward to a leisurely and relaxed departure. I love my current job at Citi and I thought I’d never leave. Bt the opportunity to join Noble came out of nowhere and I talked myself into it."