American bank, Citigroup, to establish commercial banking in Nigeria

Citigroup, a financial service firm in United States, has announced plan to establish its commercial and consumer banking operation in Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, after years of advisory roles.

The firm has been operating in Nigeria since 1984 through some clients, Seplat, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa, AFC, and also the Federal Government and its agencies, but it will now operate commercial banking, excluding retail service, in the financial industry.

This means it will not extend its service to low or small enterprises, as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer for Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Ebru Pakcan, said Citigroup commercial business will focus on existing clients.

“We will be in the markets with a caveat that we are not going to go to very low or small enterprises but rather focusing on making the Citi network available to existing clients with multiple countries’ presence.” Pakcan was quoted by Bloomberg on Tuesday.

It was gathered that Citigroup will also replicate the comercial operation in other African markets; South Africa, Kenya, as well as Arab country, Egypt.

This expansion comes after the firm’s management decision to close 13 markets across Asia, Europe and Middle East, in an effort to improve profitability and share price.