david: this is, uh, my kitchen table, and it is also my filing system.

over much of the past three decades, i've been an investor. the highest calling of mankind, i've often thought, was private equity. [laughter] and then i started interviewing. i watched your interviews, so i know how to do some interviewing. [laughter] i've learned from doing my interviews how leaders make it to the top. jeff: i asked him how much he wanted. he said 250. i said fine. i didn't negotiate with him. i did no due diligence. david: i have something i would like to sell. [laughter] and how they stay there. you don't feel inadequate now because being only the second wealthiest man in the world, is that right? [laughter] major trailblazer is jane fraser . two years ago she became the ceo of citi and became the first woman to head a major money center bank. citi and other banks are facing challenges to the banking system. i sat down with jane fraser to talk about these and other challenges. anything new in the banking world? [laughter] jane: it has been a quiet week,

david. david: so, let's talk about what has been going on. let's start with the easy one. silicon valley bank. what went wrong there? jane: well, before we dive into that, i have worked in financial markets all around the world. i have to say we are very lucky in america. this is the best financial system in the world. [applause] david: ok. despite it being the best, we have some problems from time to time. jane: their isolated problems. when you look at it, the financial system, it's competitive. we have large banks well-capitalized. a source of strength at the moment. we have medium-sized banks, regional banks, and by and large, they are equally well capitalized, serving their communities, playing an important part in the banking system. this is quite isolated. david: but people are still

interested in hearing about it. [laughter] so, your bank is well-capitalized. i should've said, your bank is a bank with 230,000 employees. so, your bank is in good shape. your bank is the fourth biggest bank in the u.s.. jp morgan, bank of american, wells fargo in the citi. there is a bank in the west coast called silicon valley bank. [laughter] not as well-capitalized. did the regulators not understand what was going on? do people in the banking world, people like you, were you surprised? jane: you had a combination of two pieces, the macro and igo syncretic factors around silicone -- idiosyncratic factors around silicon valley bank and the acceleration of social media about what went down. the increasing rates have been the fastest and steepest in 40 years. there is pain that comes with that. secondly, you had idiosyncratic

factors, that is the polite british way of describing them in silicon valley bank. as all of this played out, you saw serious holes in the balance sheet management. they had a concentrated client base. that client base ended up burning cash much faster than anticipated. and they ended up under duress capital and it went down pretty quick. david: in 2007 the u.s. passed tarp legislation. under it, large amounts of capital were injected into banks including citi. effectively, that meant that the shareholders, the creditors, and the depositors were protected. this time around, silicon valley bank, only the depositors word protected over -- were protected over decision made by the biden administration. do you think that was the right decision to protect only the depositors? jane: i think it's very important to protect the

depositors. right now the banking system, everywhere around the world depends on confidence. that confidence has to be in the safety and security of deposits. so, in terms of the most important job here, they did the most important job, making sure that depositors were whole. david: in the old days, when there were bank runs, you used to see people lined up on the street and get their money out. now your on your iphone, you can take your money out. money move so quickly. was that a factor in having the money get out of a bank so quickly? you could just do it over -- jane: it is a complete game changer. you're absolutely right. there were a couple of tweets. then, this thing went down much faster than has happened in history. frankly, i think the regulators did a great job in responding very quickly. normally you have longer to respond to this. they acted with quite a lot of

speed. david: some people say you have a moral hazard and you protect people. by protecting the depositors at silicon valley bank, the implication was that if somebody else has a problem, we will protect them and so forth. to to $50,000 limit is meaningless, more or less. do you think the federal reserve and the secretary treasury is going to say we are not going to protect every depositor or we are going to protect certain ones. jane: i don't think they need to go out right now. the banking system is pretty sound. we're talking about a few banks. we heard from chairman powell today, this is not something that has spread across the entire banking system. it isn't like it was last time. this is not a credit crisis. this is a situation where it is a few banks that have problems. it's better to make sure that we nip that in the bud. david: not to pick on the west coast, but there is another west coast bank, first republic bank,

is based in san francisco. they've had problems. they have had gigantic decline in their market value. do you expect somebody will bail them out or buy them? jane: i'm not going to comment on first republic. they are actively working through the challenges they are facing right now. what you saw, last week, was a number of the large banks, 11 of us, got together to put large capital, a deposit injection into them, to help buy them time to make sure they could come up with the right solution for the restructuring that is needed. david: the large banks and others put in roughly $30 billion in deposit. you put in roughly $5 billion. how to that happen? did jamie dimon call you up and say do you have $5 billion you don't need and put it in first republic? do you have to go to your board and say i need $5 billion? how do you make that decision? did you say to jamie, i will

call you back, i will think about it? how does that work? jane: one of the great things about this was the banks did all come back together. you think about it, we try to kill each other in different deals we are trying to do. so, there is a lot of competition between us. in this instance, this is one where, we are in a strong position, we want to stop will could have been a problem. we all know when there is a confidence crisis, the logic that takes over is not necessarily rational. we wanted to going help protect the system. it's in the interest to do so. despite this being a divisive environment we are operating in, this is an instance of the banks coming together in saying what can we do here to support a system we have confidence in? you don't put $5 billion into the system through the generosity of your own heart, you do it because you have confidence in the system itself. david: you expect to get that

money back? jane: yes. david: jamie dimon is a great banker. he's been the head of jp morgan for 17 years. jamie dimon. [laughter] well regarded. but, why do you think it is the case that he is calling around and doing this and not the secretary of treasury, the federal reserve, why is it a nongovernment person doing this? i would've thought a government person would do this. jane: why do you think janet was not calling around? do you believe everything you read in the newspapers? david: when people in washington do something good they have the press know about it. maybe she was calling around. jamie seems to be getting all the credit, if credit is the right word. is it not fair to give him the credit? jane: jamie played a role. we all played a role. there was an active discussion that we can. david: would citi consider buying first republic? jane: no. david: another bank called credit suisse, credit suisse

dissolved very quickly, were you surprised at how quickly that bank went away after about 100 years of being around? jane: we are talking about three or four banks out of the thousands that are here in the states. let's put that into perspective. credit suisse, i think, everyone was on falling off their chair, credit suisse ended up where did. it was a question of time. it has been a troubled institution. for those of you who don't know it, is a very global bank, it's got a strong operation in switzerland. good wealth management in asia. an investment bank in the states and around the world. it's had issues. it's had a lot of management instability, a number of different crises, and things that have hit it. david: credit suisse has great private bankers and clients. are the city bankers --citi bankers calling up former employees and saying, you should come here? jane: there calling us.

[laughter] david: ok. when you went to harvard business school you entered in 1992. jane: that's right. david: where there a lot of women in your class? jane: probably about 24%, 25%. enough of us to cause trouble.

david: rowing up what did you say you wanted to be -- growing up what did you say wanted to be? jane: i wanted to be a doctor, but i was really lousy at biology. david: that happens a lot to people who want to go to medical school. you grew up in edinburgh area? jane: i did. david: were your parents bankers? jane: definitely not. my father was a scottish accountant, which meant you are not relying on parental generosity and extra pocket money, from a scottish accountant as a father. so, i used to earn my pocket money on the golf course, you would not know it from my golf game. david: i'm sure it is better than mine. you went to cambridge. after you graduated, what did you do? s after i graduated, i joined goldman as an analyst. david: that is an easy job to get. you don't work more than 30, 40 hours a week.

how many years did you do that? jane: i worked at goldman for a couple of years. i was young when i started. i was the boring girl from scotland. everyone else was european, spoke multiple languages, and was a lot more exotic and interesting than me. after i finished the program, i thought, i better make myself more interesting. i move to spain. david: did you speak spanish before? s i didn't --. jane: i didn't. david: well, i know one word. si, or something. my language skills are very limited. jane: luckily you have other talents. david: spanish is not one of them. so, you are there for a couple of years and then he decided to go where? jane: to america. i did the same. talk my way into harvard business school. i was fascinated by the american machine.

if we spent a bit of time in europe, grow up in the 1970's and 80's, it's fascinating. america is something you want to try to understand, the american economy, the entrepreneurs. david: when he went to harvard business school you entered in 1990 -- when you went into harvard business goal you entered in 1992? where there a lot of women in her class? jane: probably 25%. enough of us to cause trouble. david: you graduate from harvard business school and then you decide to go to mckenzie? jane: yes. david: why did you want to be a consultant? jane: first of all, why didn't i go back into banking at that time? i've been in baking in the 80's when there were not many women in banking. they wore suits with big shoulder pads. and they were more scary than the men. [laughter] you remember the era. when i looked at the consulting,

particularly mckenzie, i liked partnerships. partnerships are great place to grow up. the the apprenticeship model is wonderful. global institution and firm. also it was quite strategic in what they were looking at. similar issues to m&a and goldman. i thought i would have the chance of having a family, a bit more predict ability in to work schedule. david: you did it for 10 years? jane: 10 years. david: and you have children during that time? jane: yes. david: you become a partner there, being a partner is a great job, why did you decide to leave to go to citi? jane: i became a mom at the same time as i became a partner. i worked part-time through my partnership. [applause] mckenzie was fantastic about that. i was able to spend time with the kids before they went into school. then, when they were at school,

i felt like ok, i can go full time working again. i honestly felt like it was time that i could prove that i could do it, rather than just advise. david: you went to citi. at the time, did you think a woman, would ever become the head of city --citi? jane: i never thought about it. at that point, there were quite a few women in. they were always very supportive about it. male mentors. it was never something i thought about. this was 20 years ago. i was enjoying the day job. david: you had a series of jobs. you were the ceo of this division or that division. one time they asked you to move to latin america to be the ceo of latin america. id you think that was going to be a dead end -- did you think that was going to be a dead-end? jane: it was a big turnaround role. it is one of those ones you say if i did a good job, then that

was going to put me in a good position for bigger opportunities. if i did a bad job, so be it. david: you are not afraid they would forget you? you're down in brazil, you are not afraid they would forget you? jane: know. -- no. david: you are the head of the global consumer bank, what is that at citi? jane: that is retail banking, a credit card, which i believe you are a proud owner of a citi credit card. david: i do have that. i don't have enough frequent flyer miles on it. you told me i'm not qualified for it. jane: you have the wrong card. david: is this the best credit card you can get? [laughter] jane: david, you have the one with our wonderful partner american airlines. david: yours is black. how, my is gold? which is better? jane: you have to ask for it, david.

i suspect you may not be flying quite as much on the commercial airlines. [laughter] ♪ david: currently many ceos are under pressure to undertake public policy matters, positions on voting rights or climate change. do you think ceos should be getting in the middle of talking about those kinds of things? do you try to not do that? jane: when they matter to your business model and when they are important for progress, if you are a bank, you care about economic growth and progress around the world. so, yes, we will speak out on that. also if it is important to the people, the communities we are in. their topics we talk about. we don't view it as being political. but it's about what do we stand

for as a bank? david: what about diversity, equity and inclusion. what are you doing to make sure you have other diversity standards met in the bank? jane: it's an important part of the bank. because we've got people from everywhere, who work at citi. they want to work for an american enterprise. it's a real compelling point of the bank in attracting talent from all over the world. for citi, my predecessor really was very focused on making sure that we had strong diversity of all types in the bank. we worked out that radical transparency is very, very valuable. we put out three year targets on representation. we disclosed -- disclose exactly what they are. the targets we have on both recruiting and in retention and promoting, are in everybody scorecard. we have pay equity. every single year, we measure.

we have a third party come in and make sure every woman is paid exactly the same as a man lay the same job, performing at the same level -- in the same job performing at the same level. ♪ david: when did you realize for the first time, you could be the ceo of the bank? there are a lot of people, you have 230,000 employees, a lot want to be ceo, when did you realize for the first time you had the chance to get it? jane: when i was made president of the bank. up until then, you don't really have a sense. but that was a point when mike and john had a conversation about being a likely successor

but no guarantees in life, and i better do a good job. david: so your predecessor was michael corbin. he retired two years ago. you succeeded him. what was the biggest challenge in becoming the ceo right away? jane: it was covid. so, this was becoming ceo during covid, it's not the easiest. your use to going to different sites -- you are use to seeing different sites, clients, it is not the same. you have to learn how to lead in a different way. david: today, citi is a bank that announced it is changing its strategy. you want to be a consumer and institutional bank in the united states, is that right? jane: yup. david: you're getting the consumer business outside of the united states. jane: what we have said we are, rather than what we are not, it's an extraordinary bank in its history. and in its presence globally.

it opens the door as a bank in 100 different countries. t -- citi is to be the preemptive banking partner for companies, investors and individuals across border needs. that is the vision of the bank. we'll serve that client base as they -- they're absolutely critical partner. david: you have sold consumer businesses. you announced you're trying to sell your business in mexico. jane: the consumer business, yes. david: who will you sell that to? jane: we have been fortunate to have a lot of interest. we looked at consumer banking, and we could see, originally, the view being you would get global scaling and consumer banking. we were very strong in a number of different geographies. the reality is you don't get as much scale globally. it's much more about local scale in those businesses.

we decided, let's focus, we want the bank to be simple, we want to be excellent at what we do. that's better if you are more focused bank on fewer business lines. that's the path we are on. david: the banks stock under your predecessors has not moved, in 10 years, is that a concern? jane: we are transforming the bank to make sure we are in a different position. we're changing the strategy of the bank, as we talked about. that entails, selling 65,000 employees, 25% of our employee base, so we can focus and doubled down on the businesses that make sense. david: to 30,000 you have, your selling 65,000 -- 230,000 you have your selling 65,000? jane: the belief, where we truly excel, we will move every single day for trillion dollars of volume -- $4 trillion of volume for five national firms.

there is no other bank that can do that. that's an credible asset for america, a strategic asset for the states. you would much rather have american companies operating on american banking rails and not foreign banking rails, particularly these days. that is what we are focusing the bank around, that client base. it's a big transformation. this is bold. this takes courage to do. we're making good progress on it. we're putting a lot of investment into modernizing the bank, as we've had regulatory orders against us as well, to make sure we make the investments we need to. and making sure the culture is there, of real excellence, but also to be a human bank. we've talked about that being important. put all that together, that is a lot of transformation in work. we're determined around it. we're completely convinced that that puts the bank into a different profitability, different return profile, and

ultimately the benefit of our shareholders. david: suppose i am listening to what you are saying, she is articulate, committed, maybe i will buy your stock. do you think your stock is a good buy right now? jane: yes. [laughter] david: i buy it, i can get an appreciation of some percent i am happy with? not as good as private equity returns but good, right? [laughter] for young professionals, why should they want to work at a large commercial bank? what is the appeal? if someone goes to harvard business school when i go to a hedge for -- firm, one of these important organizations? how do you recruit people to a place like citi? what is it that you say is so great about being a commercial banker? jane: america's global banks are the center of some of the biggest challenge is going on in the world. geopolitically we get pulled into the conversations. we're playing a critical role in supporting clients in the country -- countries. you get an opportunity to come and work, and learn in a team

environment, in an apprenticeship model on how to tackle and solve some of these pieces. david: what you do for relaxation to get away from the office? are you a golfer or something? jane: i love spending time with my kids. so, spending time with them. they are less enthusiastic now than they used to be. i will take what i get. david: do they tell you -- their friends who you are? jane: when i was announced as ceo, i knew is going to happen, i called up my son. did not pick up, as usual. i said, please call me. david: you call your son and he did not pick up? jane: no. he sent a message saying, i am busy. i said please i have news could you pick up? he's like, mom i mean it, i'm on zoom calls. i'm busy. he did not pick up.

i ended up having to text him, the next morning, that it was going to be announced. then, he came back to me at the end of the day and said, mom, it was a text message, it said, mom you're all over the news. are you important or something... [laughter] ♪ the new chase ink business premier card is made for people like sam who make...? ...everyday products... ...designed smarter. like a smart coffee grinder - that orders fresh beans for you. oh, genius! for more breakthroughs like that... ...i need a breakthrough card... like ours! with 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more... plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other purchases! and with greater spending potential, sam can keep making smart ideas... ...a brilliant reality! the new ink business premier card from chase for business. make more of what's yours.

scarlet: in the three decades since gary bettman took over as the first official commissioner of the nhl, professional hockey scaled new heights. >> mcdavid blazes over the line and scores! >> oh, my goodness.

>> goodness grac