Citi Adds Renminbi to Multi-currency Notional Pooling Service in London
Citi has added the renminbi (RMB) to its multi-currency notional pooling service in London, which provides treasurers with a liquidity management tool to gain cash flow flexibility and manage foreign exchange (FX) costs more efficiently among different currencies by notionally offsetting cash balances without performing FX trades.
The banking group said that the launch was in response to the growing internationalisation of the Chinese currency and brings the total number of currencies available in Citi’s multi-currency pooling offering to 26. Citi added that it is applying its global presence and global liquidity management expertise to help corporate treasurers seize the opportunities arising from the continued opening of the China market and its currency and has already implemented this solution for a multinational corporate (MNC) client.
Citi launched its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) RMB cash and trade offering in June 2012 and reports a significant increase over the past year in the volume and value of cross-border RMB transactions generated in London and other centres, with a growing number of MNCs holding offshore RMB cash balances to support trade flows in the currency. Citi recently announced the significant surge it is seeing in RMB-related transactions in Singapore.
“By implementing this RMB offshore multi-currency notional pool, we can now help our clients integrate RMB deeper into their cash and liquidity management processes,” said Rajesh Mehta, EMEA head of treasury and trade solutions, Citi Transaction Services.