Citi Markets & Banking is providing direct custody and clearing services to clients in Morocco, expanding Citi’s proprietary direct custody and clearing network to 50 markets, the largest in the world.
“Reaching 50 markets is a milestone for our direct custody and clearing business and a testament to Citi’s unrivalled ability to support our clients as the globalization of the capital markets inevitably continues,” says Andrew Gelb, global head of direct custody and clearing for Cit’s Global Transactions Services business. “We are proud to provide our clients with a proprietary network that delivers a consistent high quality standard of service, technology and support in more markets than any other provider. The addition of Morocco showcases our commitment to expanding our network to meet the growing needs of our clients.”
“This year marks Citi’s 40th anniversary in Morocco and we are committed to expanding our business here,” says James Morrow, Citi country officer for Morocco. “Morocco is an increasingly attractive growth opportunity for investors and we are thrilled to be leveraging our local knowledge of the country environment and proactive engagement with customers, regulators and market infrastructures to bring more investment into this promising economy.”
Direct custody and clearing plays an integral role in the capital markets by providing the clearing and settlement services required for broker dealers and global custodians to support trading and investing activities around the world. Direct custodians provide services such as equity and fixed-income securities settlements, safekeeping, pre-matching, registration, corporate actions, income collection, proxy services, foreign ownership monitoring and disclosure services, tax relief at source, market claims, cash management, foreign exchange, reporting, market expertise and information services to clients.
In response to client demand for an integrated solution to support the increased globalization of the capital markets, Citi began offering direct custody and clearing as a globally integrated business in Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom in 1987. After continued growth across Europe and Asia, the network expanded into Central and Eastern Europe in 1989 with the opening of Turkey and Latin America in 1991 with the opening of Mexico. In 2005, Citi acquired ABN AMRO’s domestic custody business in the Netherlands and its network domestic custody business in Russia, Greece, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Poland and Taiwan to compliment its existing capabilities in these countries. Since November 2005, Citi opened six direct custody and clearing markets in Slovakia, Vietnam, Israel, Sweden, Cyprus and Morocco to reach 50 markets worldwide.