The firm confirmed that this is a new role that underscores its commitment to the Bay Area and broader US western region.

Liou joins Citi from Anvil Capital Advisors, where he was founder and chief investment officer. Before that he spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs in private wealth management, securities and synthetic products.

In his new role at Citi, he will report to Michael Remak, head of the northern California investments team.

In other developments across the US, in May Robert Sierens joined Citi Private Bank's Chicago, IL, office as central regional market manager, also a new role at the firm. The same week, Casey Hannon joined as a director and investment counselor for the Mid-Atlantic region.

Citi Private Bank has $374 billion in global assets under management, with 49 offices in 15 countries, and serving clients across 139 countries.