Vikram Pandit stepped down as CEO of Citigroup Tuesday after steering the bank through the choppy years following the 2008 financial crisis.

Pandit's replacement as CEO is Michael Corbat, the current CEO of Citigroup's Europe, Middle East and Africa division, the bank said. The change is effectively immediately. Pandit will also relinquish his seat on Citi's board of directors.

Corbat has worked at Citigroup and its predecessors since he graduated from Harvard in 1983, the company said.

A second top executive also resigned as part of the shake-up: President and Chief Operating Officer John Havens, who also serves as CEO of Citi's Institutional Client Group.

Pandit said in a statement that "now is the right time for someone else to take the helm at Citigroup" after the bank "emerged from the financial crisis as a strong institution."