Citicorp Brokerage Executive Fired

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc. C.N , the world’s largest financial services company, has fired William Maguire, the top executive in its Citicorp brokerage unit, the New York Times said on Thursday, citing a Citigroup spokesman.

Maguire, the president of Citicorp Investment Services, “has been relieved of his duties, and he is in the process of leaving the company,” Citigroup spokesman Mark Rodgers told the newspaper.

Rodgers and Joel Greenwald, Maguire’s lawyer, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Edward Munin, a Chicago-based executive, has been named acting president of Citicorp Investment Services, the newspaper said.

The Times, citing unnamed current and former employees at the brokerage unit, said Citigroup contended that Maguire had falsified claims about having fulfilled unspecified continuing education requirements.

Asked by the Times if Maguire had been fired for making false claims, Greenwald said, “All I’m going to say is everything is in the process of negotiation.”

The Times said Maguire ran a unit that sells mutual funds and other investments to Citigroup consumer banking customers. The unit employs about 1,000 people, including 720 brokers, and handles $36 billion of customer assets, the Times said.