NEW YORK • Citigroup, one of the world's biggest brokers for commodities products, will move the head of that business to a new role in Asia.

Mr Stuart Staley, who's run global commodities for the past eight years, will become head of Asia markets and securities services in March, replacing Mr Patrick Dewilde, who's leaving the firm, according to a company memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

The New York-based lender will look for a successor during that period, according to the memo, which was signed by Mr Paco Ybarra, global markets head, and Asia chief Francisco Aristeguieta.

A former trader at Enron, Mr Staley helped push Citigroup into a first-place tie with Morgan Stanley in commodities trading through the first half of the year, passing rivals Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, data from Coalition Development show. In Asia, he will assume control of a unit that oversees sales and trading desks, and a prime-brokerage business, among others.

"He helped to grow and develop the franchise into an industry leader," Mr Ybarra and Mr Aristeguieta wrote in the memo.

The commodities-trading industry deals in everything from derivatives tied to oil to physical metals. Industry revenue dwindled 35 per cent to US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion) through the first three quarters of 2017, putting it on track to have one of its worst years since the financial crisis, Coalition data show.

BLOOMBERG