Citigroup and Chinese officials said the bank has been cleared to set up a standalone securities company in China, closing out a long effort marked by regulatory hurdles in Washington and Beijing. The approval arrived a few weeks following a meeting in Washington between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump and followed approvals for two Japanese financial firms the prior week.
Regulators said the unit will be called Citigroup Securities (China) Co., will be headquartered in Shanghai and will launch with 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million) in registered capital. Citi filed its application in late 2021 and had to navigate evolving Chinese data rules alongside reviews by US authorities.
The new platform will offer onshore capital-markets capabilities for clients inside China and abroad, such as underwriting, stock dealing, investment advice, research, and executing trades in listed securities. Even without this license, Citi already ran significant mainland infrastructure for institutions, such as bond clearing and settlement, acting as a futures margin depository bank, underwriting corporate bonds and offering local fund custody.
Citi is re-entering the onshore securities arena years after dissolving its investment-banking JV with Orient Securities Co. in 2019 and later exiting consumer banking in China as part of a wider retrenchment. In recent years it leaned into commercial banking instead, focusing on trade finance, transaction services and hedging.
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People familiar with the plan said the bank is targeting mid and larger private firms it expects to become corporate leaders, aiming to build early banking ties that could translate into financing work and, over time, domestic capital raising as those companies scale through global supply chains. Citi planned to build an onshore workforce exceeding 100 people, initially focused on yuan equity underwriting and futures trading, and has already appointed a chief executive officer, a chief financial officer, and a chief compliance officer for the venture.
CEO Jane Fraser struck an upbeat tone during a Citigroup event held in Shanghai in late 2025, saying the bank was growing "rapidly" in the region on renewed interest from multinationals and Chinese companies. Under her strategy, Citi has focused on "vibrant" areas like Chinese firms expanding overseas and institutions with complex cross border needs.
China's approval underscores a steady opening of its capital markets even as local stocks came under heavy pressure. Global banks have toggled between expanding and pulling back since Covid, but those that stayed are earning more - though much of the profit still comes from Hong Kong listings and other offshore business - and the onshore build has been incremental.
Peers such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley already have China securities units, yet returns were held down by slower growth and a prolonged slump in deal activity. A rebound in stocks and transactions last year helped early movers like Morgan Stanley Securities and UBS Securities Co. post strong profit growth in 2025, while later entrants are still working to break even amid tougher competition. For investors, more foreign banks with onshore licenses means more channels for capital formation in China, which can shift deal flow and financing options as competition and market conditions evolve.
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