A bank can offer a wide range of financial products with the most sophisticated of structures across a host of countries, but if it cannot process the paper and payments they generate, the exercise is useless. That's why one of Euromoney's new awards is the bank best at transaction services.
Citibank is a leader in this area and its staff emphasize that while such operations are usually associated with cash management, custody and trade services, they are equally important in corporate finance and capital markets. Transactions range from paying dividends on an Indian ADR to settling a 25-currency basket index, to structuring a securitization vehicle that captures revenues in 75 countries, to enabling a customer to centralize its global payables and receivables in one treasury, to documenting multi-country letters of credit.
The scale of processing required to keep Citibank's business moving is phenomenal. Its cash-management systems handle some $500 billion a day through close to 100,000 transactions. Its securities and custody businesses process over 13,000 securities worth $38 billion every day. Its loan agency unit, which is increasingly important to winning underwriting, is agent on over $250 billion of syndicated credits. Citibank's operational capabilities are an integral part of its ability to deliver appropriate solutions to its global customer base.