Citi Whitepaper: Challenges and Opportunities in Today’s Clearing and Settlement Space

LONDON & OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citi Transaction Services’ is pleased to announce the launch of Perpetual Evolution: Expecting the Unexpected (“PEIII”), a whitepaper developed by Citi which demonstrates its continued leadership in advancing client dialogue on regulation and is based on the views of leading industry figures, examining key issues prevalent in the European clearing and settlement space.

The financial industry is on the threshold of a significant adjustment period, particularly in Europe, with a proliferation of regulatory initiatives to protect the end-investor from institutional failure and to harmonise the regulatory environment across the region.

These initiatives combine to impact transaction banking at its core. Market participants will see the need to realign business lines and operating models, while providers will have to fundamentally redefine their core businesses as well as their commercial models. Risk and regulation are key themes that financial institutions must address, against the backdrop of great social, macro economic and geopolitical changes both in the region and globally.

While the complete impact of such multifaceted regulations remains uncertain, they have begun to change materially the structure and services offered by the banking industry. PEIII discusses the importance of change management and innovation for providers with long-term designs on maintaining or building market-leading positions in this business. With new opportunities presenting themselves as a result of regulatory, economic and environmental shifts, financial institutions are under pressure to adapt in order to remain relevant to their clients.

Reto Faber, Head of Direct Custody and Clearing, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Citi, comments, “While we witness core services losing their relative value– there are new opportunities opening up for innovative providers. More of the value (and provider revenue) is likely to be generated by offering risk management, providing credit and liquidity, managing collateral, delivering services to cope with regulatory compliance requirements, as well as developing much more sophisticated reporting and analysis of information. It is too early to make accurate predictions, but it is a safe bet that this industry will be redefined, with quite a number of its core dynamics realigning significantly over the coming years”.

A copy of Perpetual Evolution: Expecting the Unexpected can be found at www.sibos.citi.com

Citi Transaction Services, a division of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group, offers integrated cash management, trade, and securities and fund services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world. With a network that spans more than 95 countries, Citi’s Transaction Services supports over 65,000 clients. As of the third quarter of 2012, it held on average $415 billion in liability balances and $12.8 trillion in assets under custody.

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About Citi:

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.