In concrete terms, the bank wants to focus on local medium-sized companies, especially in transaction banking.
(Photo: Reuters)
Frankfurt So far, the major US bank Citi has mainly specialized in large customers in Germany – now the institute is expanding its range of commercial banking services: In the future, Citi will also be recruiting large medium-sized companies, according to a statement available to the Handelsblatt.
“The start in Germany is an important step for our further expansion in Europe in the coming years,” said Citi Europe boss Kristine Braden. According to its own statements, the bank has expanded in this business area into more than ten Western European countries in the past two years, including Spain, Italy and Belgium.
Now Germany follows. According to Citi, the focus is on companies and digital companies from the areas of industry, healthcare and mobility that want to grow quickly and expand internationally. Because these sectors would represent the strengths of the German economy particularly well. “Typically, our commercial banking customers should generate revenue in the hundreds of millions to billions of euros,” Braden said.
So far, the bank has hired five new employees to implement the expansion plans. By the end of next year, there should be around 20 – twice as many as in the bank’s major customer business here.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Specifically, the major US bank wants to focus primarily on transaction banking. The main aim is to make payment transactions easier for companies and to hedge against currency risks. “Many companies have to work with a multitude of banks because none can truly meet their needs on their own,” Braden said. In addition, Citi wants to give its customers access to lines of credit and other banking services from investment banking and private banking.
Big competition
However, the major US bank is facing tough competition in the local market: the French BNP Paribas and the British HSBC are also active in this segment in Germany. Deutsche Bank has declared transaction banking to be a growth market.
>> Read also: US bank Citi is closing branches in Russia
US competitor JP Morgan only announced in May that it would be expanding its business with small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany – and in doing so would primarily focus on large medium-sized enterprises with annual sales of 250 million to two billion euros. According to its own statements, JP Morgan has already won around 75 customers and doubled the number of employees to 15 to 20 in the past year.
The US bank Goldman Sachs announced last year that it wants to get into transaction banking in Europe. “If the regulators give the green light, we will bring the offer to the EU in the next six to nine months. Germany will be an important market for us,” said Hari Moorthy, responsible for global transaction banking in September. So far, however, the new offer has not yet started.
Despite the great competition, Citi is confident: Braden emphasized that other banks would not have their own global network.
According to its own statements, the institute is represented in 95 markets worldwide. Numerous customers would be looking for such an international positioning, especially in Germany, where many companies use global supply chains or produce and sell products locally abroad. “We don’t look at companies that are only active in Germany, but at those that are truly global,” said Braden. The bank also wants to attract young digital companies that often grow quickly and want to expand globally within a few years.
More: SME offensive: JP Morgan wants to increase its German business tenfold in the medium term