Awards of Excellence: African regional awards

Awards for Excellence 1997

Awards for Excellence 1997

Best bank Citibank

Citibank continues to be the most committed bank in Africa as a whole. While many competitors remain influenced by their colonial legacy ­ restricting themselves to anglophone or francophone countries ­ Citibank has taken a continent-wide approach. It has banks in 13 countries and representative offices in a further two ­ including most recently Angola ­ and expects to expand farther afield in the next year or two.

Citibank has consistently gone into markets where others have been less keen to stray ­ in line with its mantra that while others are jumping on the emerging market bandwagon, it is driving its own. Having seen the potential for investors in Africa’s high-yield government securities markets, it has actively sought to become a primary and secondary market-maker in various markets, including Morocco and Kenya. At the same time it continues to be involved in high-profile fund-raising deals, including last year lead-managing the $100 million convertible for Investec in South Africa, and the $2 million Zambian Breweries share flotation.