Bank of Montreal (BMO) has found a replacement for its retiring chief risk officer (CRO). Piyush Agrawal will join the bank on July 1 as deputy CRO and, after a transition period, become CRO on November 1.
Agrawal will succeed BMO veteran Patrick Cronin in the role. Cronin joined the bank in 1993, holding senior roles in BMO Capital Markets including head of trading products, COO and CEO and group head. He became CRO of BMO Financial Group in 2018.
Darryl White, CEO of BMO Financial Group, says in a statement: ‘Throughout his career, Pat has made a significant impact across our bank. He expertly steered our Covid-19 response and our risk function through the pandemic and the complex credit and market environment that has defined the past 24 months. He is a trusted adviser, and one of the strongest bankers I have worked with. He has also shown a true commitment to the communities we serve.’
Agrawal is joining Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE-listed BMO from Citigroup, where he has been CRO for Citibank and global head of climate risk since 2021. He joined Citigroup in 2002, and since then has held roles such as COO of Citibank, CRO of Asia-Pacific and head of corporate strategy.
White says in announcing the changes: ‘I’m delighted to welcome Piyush to BMO, and we are excited to have him join our leading risk-management group. I have been particularly impressed by his business acumen, customer focus and regulatory experience, [as well as] his deep risk-management capabilities and expertise on ESG and climate topics. His reputation for personal curiosity and lifelong learning, as well as developing high-performing teams, precedes him.’
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
