Citigroup Global Transaction Services says it has completed the installation of a new securities trade processing, movement and control system for its custody operations in twelve countries. The new system replaces PC-based applications in the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka and Turkey.
“Our clients benefit from the new system because we have strengthened our ability to process trades and securities in a consistent manner virtually anywhere we do business with them,” says John Galante, Managing Director of Technology for Citigroup Global Transaction Services. “It also enables us to better capitalize on the competitive advantage we enjoy through our local branches in 50 markets, which cover 95 per cent of the world’s securities capitalization.”
Galante noted that trade processing data enters Citigroup’s systems only once – from the original transaction point. This obviously differs from custodians using an agent bank network made up of third party providers. Galante says is enables Citibank to capture and report information to clients in real-time, through its Internet platform, CitiDirect for Securities.
“The combination of our consistent global processing capabilities with the industry’s largest local branch network provides investors with a critical edge in monitoring and making decisions about their assets,” claims Galante.
Citigroup partnered with Orbitech Solutions Limited, based in Mumbai, India, on the development of the new processing system, which has been designed to fully support new trade processing improvements, such as the ISO 15022 messaging standards, as well as potential changes and growth in each of the markets