Citibank Australia

Citigroup Pty Ltd (trading as Citi Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of multinational financial services company, Citigroup. The bank operates consumer banking services (as Citibank Australia), including credit cards, savings and transaction accounts, loans, insurance, and self-managed superannuation funds (SMSF), as well as private, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management.

Citigroup Pty Limited
Citi Australia
TypeSubsidiary of Citigroup
IndustryBanking
Founded1985 (1985)
HeadquartersSydney, Australia
Area served
Australia
Key people
Marc Luet (CEO)
ProductsSavings accounts, term deposits, credit cards, cash management accounts, loans, wealth management
ServicesFinancial Services
Number of employees
1,200
ParentCitigroup
(sale of consumer banking division to NAB pending)
Websitewww.citibank.com.au

Citibank Australia was opened in 1985 and was one of the first foreign banks to be granted a banking licence in Australia,[1] besides being one of the largest international banks in the country.[2] Since 2001, the national headquarters have been located at the Citigroup Centre, Sydney.

Citibank currently has major centres in Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane and employs a total of about 1,200.[3] Its parent company, Citigroup, has around a million customers in Australia and New Zealand, along with about 900 local corporate and institutional clients.[4] Marc Luet is the Chief Executive Officer.[5]

History

In 1985, Citibank was granted a banking licence in Australia. In 1999, Diners Club Australia was acquired by Citibank. Citigroup Centre was opened in 2001 in Sydney. In 2002, Citigold was launched. The next year, Salomon Smith Barney joined up with Citibank Corporate Bank to form the Citigroup Global Corporate and Investment Banking Group. In 2009, following a massive bailout of its parent Citigroup Inc by the United States government in 2008 following the subprime mortgage crisis, Citigroup announced in January 2009 that the parent would be separated into "bad bank" Citi Holdings (comprising the bank's brokerage, consumer finance and troubled assets) and Citicorp. Citicorp, the "good bank," will consist of retail banking, business banking and credit cards. Citigroup announced on 27 January 2009 that Michael Corbat, former head of Citigroup's brokerage business, will head Citi Holdings.[6]

In April 2021, Citigroup announced that it will exit its consumer banking operations in 13 markets, including Australia, with its investment banking division remaining operational in the country.[7][8] On 9 August 2021, Citigroup announced its agreement to sell its Australian consumer banking division to the National Australia Bank (NAB), for A$1.2 billion (US$882 million).[9][10][11] On 25 November 2021, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved NAB's proposed acquisition of Citi Australia's consumer banking division.[12][13][14] NAB expects that the acquisition will be completed by March 2022, subject to regulatory approval.[9][15]

Divisions

Citibank Australia comprises the consumer group division of its parent company, Citi Australia. The other two divisions of Citi are markets and banking, and wealth management.[16]

  • Citi Global Consumer Group: This division performs retail banking operations, largely through online and telephone banking. Most notably, this division also issues Citi-branded, as well as white-label credit cards (examples include Coles, Kogan, and Qantas-branded credit cards), and Diners Club-branded cards. Due to its online presence, deposits and telling services are currently offered through NAB and Australia Post's Bank@Post service.[17]
  • Citi Markets and Banking: This division of Citi performs a multitude of functions, including underwriting equity and debt, providing advice about mergers and acquisitions and providing services in cash management, custodial, foreign exchange, trade and treasury.
  • Citi Global Wealth Management: This division of Citi includes Citi Private Bank, Citi Smith Barney and Citi Investment Research.

Sponsorship and corporate social responsibility

Citibank Australia has various financial education and environmental programs to serve local communities in Australia. Its program Making Cents[18] is geared towards helping parents and teachers instruct children about the basics of money management. Another program funded by Citibank in Australia is Hip Pocket,[19] a workshop for teenagers in Year 10 and 11 which helps them to understand finances and be educated consumers. Finally, Citibank Australia has provided funding for an organisation called Learning Links with a program called Counting for Life, which helps children with difficulties in learning math.[20]

As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) Citibank Australia has engaged in various initiatives such as reducing its energy use and paper use; supporting companies that use alternative energy, and undertaking research on the impact of climate change on trade and industry.[21] It has become an “Action for Climate Change” partner with Conservation Volunteers Australia, which involves having events for Citibank employees in which they are educated about climate change, opening up opportunities for employees to take part in conservation efforts, and providing funding for tree planting.[22]

Citibank Australia also supports a children’s hospice in New South Wales called Bear Cottage, as well as The Shepherd Centre, a centre for hearing impaired children. It is part of the Australian Business Community Network, which helps public schools through initiatives such as mentoring programs and career fairs.[23]

Citibank Australia is a major sponsor of the Sydney Swans AFL club.

See also

References
  1. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4849/is_12_17/ai_n28567440 Australian Banking and Finance
  2. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1999_Sept_7/ai_55675006 Business Wire
  3. http://www.citibank.com.au/AUGCB/APPS/portal/loadPage.do?path=/info/det/AboutUs.htm About Citibank Australia
  4. http://www.citi.com.au/citigroup/ourbusiness.html Citibank Australia
  5. http://www.citi.com.au/citigroup/executives.html Citibank Australia Executives
  6. http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2746521920090127 Reuters Report re formation of good bank/bad bank
  7. Citigroup, Inc. (15 April 2021). "Citi to pursue exit of its consumer business in Australia". Citigroup. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. Roddan, Michael (15 April 2021). "Citi ends 36 years of consumer banking in Australia". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  9. Citigroup, Inc. (9 August 2021). "Citi Announces Agreement to Sell Australian Consumer Banking Business to National Australia Bank". Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  10. Duran, Paulina (9 August 2021). "Australia's NAB to buy Citi's local consumer business in $882 mln deal". Reuters. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  11. Smyth, Jamie; Kinder, Tabby (9 August 2021). "Citigroup sells Australian consumer business to NAB for $882m". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. "National Australia Bank Limited - Citigroup Pty Limited's Australian consumer business (Citigroup Consumer Business)". Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 3 August 2021. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  13. Terzon, Emilia; Whitson, Rhiana (25 November 2021). "ASX closes up, ACCC allows NAB's Citi credit card takeover". ABC News (Australia). Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  14. "Australian watchdog approves NAB's acquisition of Citi's local consumer business". Reuters. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  15. National Australia Bank (9 August 2021). "NAB announces agreement to acquire Citigroup's Australian consumer business". Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  16. http://www.citibank.com.au/AUGCB/APPS/portal/loadPage.do?tabId=home&path=/info/det/aboutus_aboutcitigroup.htm About Citi Group
  17. "Bank@Post". Australian Postal Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Finance First
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) YWCA NSW
  20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Reading for Life
  21. http://www.citi.com.au/citigroup/community/environment.html Climate Change
  22. http://www.actionforclimatechange.org.au Archived 2008-12-16 at the Wayback Machine Action for Climate Change
  23. http://www.citi.com.au/citigroup/community/overview.html
    Citigroup Community
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