Citi has become the fourth member of the Euromoney top five to enter the retail FX market, following the relatively recent moves of Deutsche Bank, RBS and UBS. Like its peers, Citi has decided to partner with an established player in the retail segment, choosing Saxo Bank to provide some of the technology and client support services.
The platform, called CitiFX Pro, will be targeted at sophisticated individuals and smaller institutional traders. It will initially be rolled out in the US, before a phased, global rollout in 2008. "For a number of years, Citi has been looking at getting into retail FX and we have spent considerable time looking at how to do it," said Sanjay Madgavkar, Citi’s global head of FX margin trading at a press conference to announce the platform.
According to Jeff Feig, global head of G10 FX at Citi, Saxo was a natural choice to partner with on the project. "We’ve chosen a partner we feel is without question the best. Saxo Bank has a phenomenal record and is dedicated to providing the number one service in the business," he said.
Saxo has long pioneered partnerships and white-label deals.