Citi celebrates 50-year Scottish milestone as clock ticks on ‘kilts’ bond sale
“Proximity to some of our significant financial services clients is also really important” – UK chief executive Tiina Lee
Banking giant Citi is eyeing further traction at its 200-strong Edinburgh operation as it taps into Scotland’s financial services ecosystem and an upcoming government bond sale.
The US-headquartered group this month celebrated its 50th anniversary in Scotland, where its office base close to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood employs some 200 people, supporting one of Europe’s most important centres for asset management, pensions and investment.
Visiting the capital to mark the Scottish anniversary at a reception attended by First Minister John Swinney, Citi’s UK chief executive Tiina Lee described the five decades as a “real milestone” for the banking major, which is led by Scots-born CEO and chairwoman Dame Jane Fraser.
Citi opened for business in Edinburgh to help support Scotland’s then nascent offshore oil and gas industry and over the years has evolved into a “centre of excellence” for its services business.
Lee told The Scotsman: “Edinburgh has a really fantastic ecosystem with regards to financial services, in terms of asset managers and banks - Scottish as well as international players.
“Within Citi, there are lots of different skills and roles that our people have been able to take advantage of. They can work through the life cycle of a transaction and not need to leave Edinburgh. Many people at Citi in Edinburgh have worked for us for between ten and 20 years.
“We want it to be a real centre of excellence, which means having individuals who are highly skilled in the areas in which they are working. That is why we have built our investor services business in Edinburgh in that way.
“We are constantly looking at opportunities that may allow us to grow the business and grow the site,” she added.
As a group, Citi operates in more than 90 countries and the UK is its second largest market outside of North America, with Edinburgh playing a pivotal role in terms of the level of assets under administration.
The group’s commercial bank supports many medium-sized businesses and Lee said there was an opportunity in Edinburgh, and other regions of the UK, to “make sure that we are covering the whole country and not just being London and south-east centric”.
She added: “We also have to look at how we can support these clients as they expand around the globe.
“Proximity to some of our significant financial services clients is also really important. In Scotland, these include the likes of Standard Life and Aegon.”
The Scottish government is closing in on plans to sell some £1.5 billion worth of government bonds - nicknamed “kilts” to contrast with British gilts - over the coming years to help fund its infrastructure plans. Citi is part of a panel that has been appointed to advise on the issuance of those bonds.
“We continue to advise and support the Scottish government in its forthcoming issuance of the first kilt and subsequent issues,” Lee said. “We remain very close to government bond investors, not just in the UK but internationally as well. We look forward to that first issue.”
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