NEW YORK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Citigroup ( C/PN ) has hired

equity capital markets banker Cully Davis from Wells Fargo as

the head of its growth equity unit in North America, according

to a memo seen by Reuters.

The move comes as the Wall Street bank is looking to

strengthen its equity capital markets (ECM) group and win more

mandates on high-profile initial public offerings (IPOs), as it

has recruited top investment bankers from its rivals in recent

months.

In September, Citi hired JPMorgan ( JPM ) banker Achintya

Mangla in a newly created role where he will oversee the bank's

capital markets franchise, which includes global debt and equity

capital markets.

Wall Street's biggest investment banks are gearing up for a

recovery in stock market flotations next year, after market

volatility and high interest rates kept high-profile IPO

hopefuls on the sidelines over the past year.

In his new role, Davis has been tasked with the effort to

help expand Citi's coverage of technology companies and

fast-growing startups that are looking to go public.

A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the contents of the

memo, which was sent by the bank's global equity capital markets

co-head Doug Adams on Wednesday.

The move comes a few weeks after Davis joined Wells Fargo,

where he was tasked with leading the bank's growth ECM unit.

Davis, who will be based in San Francisco in his new role at

Citi, had previously worked at Jefferies as vice chairman of ECM

and Head of West Coast technology, media and telecom investment

banking.

Prior to Jefferies, Davis spent about 12 years at Credit

Suisse as co-head of Americas ECM.