 Awards for Excellence 2010 |
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| Best Global transaction banking house: Citi | |
| Also nominated: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and HSBC |
In Euromoney’s 2009 Awards for Excellence, Citi floundered in transaction banking as a result of the bank’s broader problems: clients sought to avoid concentration risk with an institution that had to be supported by the US government. Moreover, some questioned whether or not Citi could maintain its global presence and massive technology investment budget given its new stakeholders.
Citi has quashed such talk: its performance improved even as it raised fresh capital and reduced risky assets. Most important, in December 2009 it repaid $20 billion of the $45 billion it received in Tarp money and exited its loss-sharing agreement with the government (Citi’s other $25 billion in bailout money had already been converted into a 27% government stake in the bank). While these measures lowered earnings per share (through the issuance of new equity) and capital ratios (by removing the government guarantee for Citi’s riskiest assets) the benefits in terms of perception were invaluable.
Citi’s leading rivals claim that it has continued to lose market share in the past year.