NEW YORK, Dec 5 Reuters Cary Kochman, one of Citigroup39;s top dealmakers, is retiring after spending nearly 14 years at the helm of the Wall Street bank39;s mergers and acquisitions group, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

Kevin Cox, who earlier this year took over as the interim head of global MA, will continue in that role, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter is confidential. Citi announced Kochman39;s retirement in an internal memo earlier on Thursday, the sources added.

A Citi spokesperson declined to comment.

Kochman, a threedecade investment banking veteran who was based out of Citi39;s Chicago office, joined the bank from UBS in 2011.

He started out as the cohead of North America MA at Citi before being appointed as the cohead of the bank39;s global MA franchise alongside Mark Shafir, another veteran investment banker who stepped down from the role last year. Prior to his stints at Citi and UBS, Kochman worked at Credit Suisse and First Boston Corporation, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Earlier this year, Citi formed an executive team of senior leaders from its corporate and investment bank, as part of the bank39;s renewed focus to capture a larger share of the lucrative deals market.

The investment banking unit is a key part of the thirdlargest U.S. lender39;s growth strategy. Citi39;s investment banking fees jumped 44, helping it post revenue of 934 million in the third quarter due to strong debt and stock…