July 16 (Reuters) - Citigroup ( C/PN ) has hired two senior

executives from JPMorgan ( JPM ) to strengthen its leadership

team and expand its financing business, according to an internal

memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Aloke Gupte, previously co-head of international equity

capital markets (ECM) at JPMorgan ( JPM ), will join Citi as global

co-head of ECM alongside Doug Adams.

Alex Watkins, who held the same role as Gupte at JPMorgan ( JPM ),

will take over as head of technology financing.

The appointments are part of Citi's broader strategy to grow

its investment banking division, following the recruitment of

Viswas Raghavan from JPMorgan ( JPM ) as head of banking in February

last year.

JPMorgan ( JPM ) has also been strengthening its ranks, recently

hiring Anthony Diamandakis from Citi as vice chair of its

strategic investors group, and former HSBC dealmaker Kamal Jabre

as vice chair of mergers & acquisitions for Europe, the Middle

East, and Africa.

Bloomberg was the first to report the news.