Citigroup wins the award for best foreign exchange bank this year, following its success in the Euromoney poll in May. A total of 659 institutional investors and corporates took part in the survey, which revealed that Citigroup captures the greatest share of the forex market with an estimated 10%.
During its brief period of relegation - Deutsche Bank won last year - Citi has implemented a number of initiatives designed to ensure its crown doesn't slip again. In particular, managers have been extremely active in trying to maximize the deal flow to CitiFX from the different areas of Salomon Smith Barney, as well as the consumer bank arm of Citigroup.
A joint venture with the investment bank has been put into place to make sure that foreign exchange transactions, such as those that are part of an M&A deal, find their way to CitiFX. AutoFX - an automated dealing platform - is another joint venture that has been established in conjunction with the bank's custody department.
Every time a client's portfolio changes, AutoFX automatically handles the currency element.
Deutsche's victory in the forex poll last year came in the wake of a period of strong activity in the hedge fund market.