Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit has, in some ways, hitched his bank to the overseas markets.
While big consumer banks were ailing domestically, he preached the value of globalization. His mantra was that few banks are as well-positioned to serve the global needs of companies and to tap emerging consumer growth opportunities.
One of the biggest overseas markets of course is China, and Citigroup has announced that it has become the first western bank to win approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to issue credit cards (consumer and commercial) on the mainland under its own brand.
According to the Financial Times, “The move is another foot in the door for Citi on the mainland after it also won preliminary approval in January to set up a joint-venture securities firm with Orient Securities, which will be based in Shanghai and licensed for investment banking business.”
Credit cards have made slow in-roads in China, mainly due to an underdeveloped payment infrastructure. But the growth potential is obviously massive. With that said, the bank’s footprint in the country remains small. The bank now has just 46 branches in the country. You can bet the bank will seek to grow its operations.
For more:
- here’s the FT article
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