US regulators put direct pressure on Citigroup to replace its finance chief only weeks before his surprise departure, according to a confidential agreement that contrasts with the two sides’ account of the episode.

The document – parts of which have been seen by the Financial Times – will confirm investors’ belief that the replacement of Ned Kelly by Citi veteran John Gerspach in July after fewer than four months in the job had been triggered by regulators. It also emphasises the extent of the authorities’ involvement in the internal workings of Citi, which recently ceded a 34 per cent stake to the government.