Citigroup aims to expand NRI product offerings

Dubai: Citigroup is planning to expand its basket of banking and investment products targeted at non-resident Indian clients, Thomas J. O'Hara, Global Business Manager of Citigroup for NRI business told Gulf News.

As part of expanding investment options for its NRI clients, the bank is preparing to launch online equity-trading platform.

This new project will be implemented by the Citi Wealth Advisors, part of Citi's wealth management division.

"We intend to expand our product line-up, especially the affinity type products and capital market linked investment products for our NRI clients," said O'Hara.

"In property we are offering flexible mortgage options. In addition, we have a basket of mutual funds from both domestic and offshore fund houses.

"We have distribution agreements with top eight fund houses in India while we offer 100 plus funds from our offshore funds basket," he said.

Citigroup, which has 39 branches across India, plans to expand its distribution agreements with more domestic fund houses.

The bank has also plan to offer fixed maturity plans with domestic corporate debt as the underlying.

To give the NRI clients more investment opportunities in the domestic capital market, the bank is also developing insurance linked products.

"These types of products are very important tools in wealth management. The development of such offerings is very much on our agenda. The product will have both equity and debt underlyings and will have insurance wrap built around it," he said.

Although a number of new generation Indian banks, finance companies and other foreign banks operating in India are offering similar products, O'Hara said Citi is far ahead of the competition.

"The global nature of our operations and the wider range of products and services we can offer places us far above the new competition. We have private banking, wealth management; brokerage business in addition to the whole range of banking and financial services under one roof which gives us a clear edge," he said.