Citigroup wants to boost its business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and will seek a banking licence, media reports said. Citi wants to expand into trade finance and treasury solutions. In 2017, Citi was awarded a Saudi capital markets licence after a gap of 13 years.
Ebru Pakcan, Citi’s head of EMEA emerging markets business, told the media, “We have seen significant growth during this time and we’re still very interested in making further investments locally in the market.”
“As our clients make more investments across multiple growth potential sectors, we are interested in expanding our capabilities and services locally over time by pursuing a banking license.”
Earlier this month, Citigroup announced the appointment of Capital One executive Naveed Anwar as the new global head of digital for its Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS). He will take over the role starting from November 1. Anwar will be based in San Jose and will be responsible for creating and implementing the unit’s global digital strategy.
Prior to his role in Capital One, Anwar spent more than 20 years at PayPal, eBay, AOL and Netscape leading several products, technology platforms and professional service organisations. His primary focus was on managing relationships with developer and partner ecosystems with responsibility for new customer onboarding and integrations.
Earlier this year, it was also reported that Citigroup is planning to exit the Venezuelan market after being operational for more than 100 years in the country. The lender will sell its operations to Banco Nacional de Crédito (BNC).