Wells Fargo Executive Details ‘Number One’ Stock Pick, Says Firm Going Through Generational Restructuring

A veteran banking and finance analyst says a New York City-headquartered American multinational bank continues to be his top stock pick.

In a new interview on CNBC’s Closing Bell, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo says he is bullish on Citigroup (C) as the bank sees significant transformation.

“I was very critical of Citigroup for decades. Their old culture could be characterized as reckless, arrogant and complacent. I think the new culture is one of drive, accountability, transparency and, frankly, enthusiasm.”

He says the changes are largely because of the bank’s CEO, Jane Fraser. 

“The biggest, simple and most powerful change is going from 50 years of a global matrix structure, a mishmash, a spider web management structure with dual accountability and dual reporting—it was a mess, to this simple structure of five lines of business CEOs reporting to Jane. Jane Fraser gets credit for that.”

Mayo says he sees a lot of upside for Citi, citing that the lender has shown some of the best top line revenue growth despite undergoing restructuring.

“Jane Fraser doesn’t get a Nobel prize for rearranging the management structure this way but they have executed and they can execute  on the existing plans. There’s still a lot of upside for Citigroup stock, it’s still my number one pick…Citi is not assuming much deregulation. Citi is having generational restructuring at a time of generational deregulation.”

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