Willem Buiter Joins Citi as Chief Economist

LONDON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citi announced today that Willem Buiter will join the Firm as Chief Economist effective January 2010.

Willem is currently Professor of Political Economy at the London School of Economics and a widely published author on economic affairs in books, professional journals and the press. Since 2005, he has been a consultant with Goldman Sachs advising clients on a global basis. Prior to that, he was Chief Economist for the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development between 2000 and 2005, supporting projects and advising governments in Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS. Between 1997 and 2000 he was a founder external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. He has been an adviser to the IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission and many central banks and finance ministries.

Before his current post, Willem held a number of other leading academic positions, including Cassel Professor of Money & Banking at the LSE between 1982 and 1984, Professorships in Economics at Yale University in the US between 1985 and 1994, and Professor of International Macroeconomics at Cambridge University in the UK between 1994 and 2000. Willem has a B.A. in Economics from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University. He has been a Member of the British Academy since 1998 and was awarded the CBE in 2000 for his services to economics.

”As one of the world’s most distinguished macroeconomists, Willem’s deep knowledge of global markets and economies, and emerging markets economies in particular, will be invaluable to our clients.” said Hamid Biglari, Vice Chairman of Citicorp. ”We are delighted that we have been able to attract a thought leader of Willem’s experience and track record to our global platform” said Andrew Pitt, Global Head of Citi Investment Research & Analysis (CIRA).

Willem will join the CIRA management team where he will lead the economics research unit. He will also join the Global Investment Committee of the Citi Private Bank. As Chief Economist, Willem will work across the entire Citi platform as a senior adviser on global economic issues. Within the investment research team, Willem will lead the creation of world-class economic analysis, with a special focus on analysing economic themes with practical investment applications. He will also work with Andrew Pitt to arrange a new series of unique events and forums for clients.

About Citi:

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.