Business

Citi renames Frankfurt office as part of post-Brexit plans

Citi employs over 2,000 staff in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter
Citi employs over 2,000 staff in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter Citi employs over 2,000 staff in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter

CITIGROUP is renaming its Frankfurt office as the Wall Street giant prepares to turn its German operations into its post-Brexit EU headquarters.

The Press Association has reported that the bank is changing the name of the legal entity to "Citigroup Global Markets Europe" this week, replacing its previous "Deutschland" designation.

The move helps prepare the site for a new licence - yet to be approved by the German regulator - that will convert the Frankfurt subsidiary into a broker-dealer and pave the way for an enlarged sales and trading operation outside of London.

Citigroup bankers were officially notified of the lender's plans to bulk up its Frankfurt office - which currently houses 350 staff - last summer.

It expects to create approximately 150 new roles across the EU, though the bank stressed that "in all cases" London would remain both its headquarters for its European, Middle East and Asia operations and "an important global hub for Citi".

An internal memo detailed plans to ramp up a number of divisions including private banking, corporate and investment banking and capital markets by increasing its footprint in other EU financial hubs including Amsterdam, Dublin, Luxembourg, Madrid and Paris.

Citi currently employs around 9,000 staff in the UK, 6,000 of whom are based in the City of London.

Citibank's European boss Zdenek Turek said earlier this year that Citi spoke to German regulators about shifting some of its European client investment activities from London to Frankfurt, according to a Bloomberg report.

He added that the Frankfurt broker-dealer was expected to be up and running by year-end.