Citigroup to close global distressed-debt unit

Citigroup is shuttering another Wall Street business as CEO Jane Fraser pushes ahead with her overhaul of the bank, CNBC has learned.

The company decided to close its global distressed-debt group, according to people with direct knowledge of the move.

Citigroup is exiting businesses with poor returns to bolster the bank’s odds of hitting Fraser’s performance targets. Fraser announced the latest overhaul of the third biggest U.S. bank by assets in September, and has since moved to trim executives and pare back businesses. Internally, the effort is known as Project Bora Bora.

Last week, the bank announced it was closing its municipal-bond trading operations, a once-thriving business with about 100 employees that had fallen on hard times.

The distressed-debt group, which trades the bonds and other securities of companies in or approaching bankruptcy, employs about 40 people, said the people, who declined to be identified speaking about strategic moves.

Citigroup didn’t immediately comment for this piece.