Citigroup is deploying artificial intelligence to shorten account-opening times and help phase out older software, its technology head Tim Ryan told Reuters.
“We still have legacy systems, but after the tech investments we’ve made, we are in a much better place,” Ryan said in an interview to Reuters.
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“AI helps migrate data from legacy systems, automate coding and test more and faster.”
Ryan said AI is also being used to streamline client onboarding. In the US services division, a document-processing tool has cut about an hour from the document review stage, reducing it to 15 minutes before an account can be opened.
Since joining Citi from PwC less than two years ago, Ryan has been reshaping the technology organisation to rely more on employees rather than external contractors.
Reuters previously reported that Ryan told staff a year ago the bank planned to sharply reduce its use of IT contractors and hire thousands of staff for technology roles.
Citigroup has increased its technology investment over the past five years, including to meet regulatory requirements.
The bank remains under two consent orders issued in 2020 by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which required stronger risk management controls and fixes to regulatory data inaccuracies and governance.
Ryan said contractors made up about 50% of Citi’s technology workforce a year ago, with a target to bring that down to 20%. He said the bank is “halfway through” the plan.
Citi now has around 50,000 people in its technology workforce and has hired more software engineers, Ryan said.
The lender is also working to implement consistent AI tools across the company as it increases investment in developing and deploying them.
Among the first 50 processes selected for review and automation are client and employee onboarding and some “know your customer” policies.
In October 2025, Citigroup made AI training mandatory for many staff globally, requiring completion of a “Prompting like a Pro” programme within 60 days. It rolled out a mandatory AI training programme to 175,000 employees across 80 locations.
