The deal adds $243bn of assets under custody to Citigroup’s $8000bn global custody portfolio. The acquisition strengthens the firm’s position in Asia, where it has global custody operations based in 14 countries.
Citigroup has also been highly innovative in the past year. It has enhanced its cash projection, fund accounting and securities finance reporting facilities on CitiDirect, its web-based delivery channel for securities clients. It has boosted its communications option on SWIFTNet and its MQ messaging capabilities. It has also launched agency/third party clearing to broker dealers in Australia and Malaysia.
According to Margaret Dawson, managing director and head of securities and funds services at Citigroup in Asia Pacific: “Asia is an exciting region for the securities business. India, Japan, Korea and China are key markets for us, but we are also strengthening our capabilities in other countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia and Australia, and leveraging success transfer across markets in Asia Pacific.”
