AP

James Forese, the popular head of securities and banking at Citigroup, was offered the chance to become the bank's president and chief operating officer shortly after the surprise resignations of Citi's chief executive and president and chief operating officer, Vikram Pandit and John Havens, according to someone familiar with the matter.

But Forese, a Salomon Bros. alumnus who once ran Citi's fixed-income division, has indicated that he isn't interested in pursuing the job, this person said, leaving a vacuum at the top.