Awards for Excellence 2018
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Central and eastern Europe has found itself at the cutting edge of technology development, and Citi has shown itself to be an innovator in supporting its clients during this exciting time. For that reason, it is the region’s best bank for transaction services.
The region has been bolstered by the growing number of shared service centres (SSCs) being established there. Due to its position geographically, between time zones and with access to a cost-effective labour force, CEE is an attractive location for business operations. To help with the establishment of SSCs, Citi hosts dedicated forums to encourage clients to share information and operational expertise with each other.
Developments in cash and liquidity management have also been helpful in making CEE a go-to region for running treasury operations; the region has been a strong adopter of electronic cash, for example. The uncertainty created by Brexit has encouraged businesses to consider CEE, with customers looking to migrate funds from the UK.
Citi, under global head of treasury and trade solutions Naveed Sultan, has encouraged the use of notional pooling, giving clients a better overview of their cash flows and allowing them to reduce costs by offsetting funds on the balance sheet.
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| Naveed Sultan |
The boom in e-commerce has also had a strong impact on how the region operates. Citi has been working with its customers to assist in planning for the future growth of these companies, which can scale at a considerable rate and require multi-currency and cross-border transactional support.
The development of tech invariably means the increased threat of cyberattack and Citi has created a dedicated educational programme on cybercrime. Over the last year there have been seven client events and three seminars held in CEE, in addition to one-on-one consultations to keep customers up-to-date on the risks they face.
