Citi

As European and Chinese banks scale back in Africa to cut costs and redeploy capital to core markets, Middle East lenders are happily jumping in to fill the gap, buying assets and putting more boots on the ground as bilateral trade between the regions increases.

If you want to get ahead in investment banking it is time to hit the beach.

Trading divisions at banks aren’t just offsetting slumping deal fees, they are also becoming more efficient. They could drive an upgrade in equity valuations.

Citi’s strength across the capital markets, allied to an ability to put its balance sheet to good use with key clients, always put it in contention for the award for Africa’s best bank for financing.

Citi’s commitment to its customers, to innovation and to unveiling new products that adapt to the shifting needs and expectations of corporates and regulators put it easily ahead of its rivals this year.

One of the consequences of Citi’s withdrawal from local banking markets in Latin America is that the US bank is especially sensitive to any potential loss of market share in corporate debt financing in the affected countries.

The two most active investment banks in the Caribbean region are Citi and JPMorgan. While it would seem natural to consider them competitors – and of course they are – it is striking how many deals there are in which they team up.

In investment banking, deals were already becoming harder to do in central and eastern Europe before Russia invaded Ukraine, as interest rates began to creep up in the second half of 2021. Executing deals has since become even harder both because of the war and because of those rate rises.

Now, hear us out. A year ago, we were griping about Citi’s decision to sell consumer businesses in a clutch of Asian markets. The only way it made sense, we argued, was if Citi put its money where its mouth is: deployed the freed capital into its wealth and institutional businesses in Asia and doubled down on that with tangible action, rather than the proceeds just drifting into some vague balance-sheet objective.

It was a knife-edge decision between Citi, stronger in top-end cash management, and HSBC, stronger in trade, this year. Last year, we decided trade was the theme to reward in a Covid-blighted year; this year we looked at progress in payments, where Citi had an excellent year.

Citi retains the award of best bank for financing – one of very few to be retained in a volatile year – for being good at everything it does across the financing space.

The US bank’s leadership on diversity is based on its commitment to transparency.

This year, the world’s best digital bank is also North America’s best digital bank. Citi continues to bolt clever new services onto its ever-expanding yet increasingly integrated digital platform and to upgrade at a furious pace.

New layers on strong foundations have built enduring success in digital for the US firm.

Network and scale make all the difference in a business where cost pressure is intense.

By hiring two private bankers from outside the industry to power its Asia family-office business, Citi offers further proof that its peers should take its ambitious regional wealth management plans seriously.

By making Valentin Valderrabano COO of Citi Global Wealth, the US bank demonstrates its willingness to think outside the box when promoting from within.

As their involvement in fintech matures, large banks are focusing on building standalone digital businesses rather than just taking stakes in third-party startups through venture capital funds and accelerators. Can these new in-house ventures disprove the thesis that incumbent banks can’t create disruptive business models?

This one is welcome in Australian banking.

DBS’s purchase of Citi’s local consumer business in January was a timely reminder of Taiwan’s allure. Yes, the island lies on a geopolitical fault line and the banking sector is crowded. But it’s also profitable and now welcomes digital disruption.

Banks need to be hyper-vigilant as threats grow from both malign and accidental disruption.

With consumer business sales mostly finalized in Asia, attention turns now to Jane Fraser’s commitment to devote the proceeds to growth in the region. We are seeing early signs.

The war in Ukraine has further highlighted the benefits of Banco Santander’s diversification across Europe and the Americas, according to executive chairman Ana Botín. However, its European home market may be a big disadvantage in Citi’s looming auction of Mexican lender Banamex.

Jane Fraser can front Citi’s investor day with good news about consumer divestments in Asia. It is hard to see a Russia sale now, though.

Treasury teams across the energy sector need to make better use of data if they are to make sense of a market that is becoming more complex.

For four years, a criminal case brought by an Australian regulator against Citi, Deutsche Bank, ANZ and six bankers who were facing jail has looked ill-judged, acting retrospectively against common market practice in a share placement. Now it has collapsed and lessons need to be learned

Citi’s global head of private banking Ida Liu sits down with Euromoney to discuss her journey to the top of the industry, the value of wellbeing and the importance of eliminating friction from client engagement.

Of all the 13 consumer businesses on the block in Citi’s Asia revamp, Taiwan was the most prized. DBS’s successful bid bolsters an already profitable business – and doing so required some hard thinking about geopolitics by the Singapore bank’s board.

Citi’s decision to withdraw from consumer banking in Mexico demonstrates the extent to which fintech players have transformed this market. How prepared are the other incumbents to take on the competition?

The decision to sell Citibanamex ends the ‘Mexican exception’.