Citi in Pakistan

An Interview with Nadeem Lodhi, Citi Country Officer, Pakistan on the occasion of Citi's 200 year celebrations 1. Have you always been a part of the financial services industry? Can you tell us about your global career in banking?
I have primarily been in the banking industry since 1988. I rejoined Citi from Abraaj Capital where I was looking after the business for Sub Saharan Africa. Prior to my time at Abraaj Capital, I served in a number of roles at DIB Capital. During my earlier tenure at Citi, I performed various roles in Pakistan and Africa including serving as the CEO for Uganda. Prior to joining Citi in 1994, I worked in both London and Pakistan for ANZ Grindlays Bank plc. I am delighted to rejoin Citi after several years, and particularly excited with this opportunity to lead Citi's Franchise in Pakistan.
2. Citi boasts the reputation of having pioneered the financial services landscape in Pakistan and is reputed for executing landmark international deals out of the country - what factors, in your opinion, have contributed to this success? Citi opened its first international branch in Shanghai in 1902. We have been operating in Pakistan since 1961. Today, with a presence in 101 countries across the globe, we are truly the world's leading global bank.
We believe we have the unique ability to augment our understanding of both, local industry dynamics and the evolving regulatory environment, with innovative global solutions, and thereby adapt them to our local requirements in Pakistan. Our clients represent a diverse range including Public Sector, MNCs, top-tier local corporates and other financial institutions in Pakistan. Our global product excellence, extensive local market knowledge and deep client relationships enable us to structure value-added, innovative financial solutions, resulting in landmark transactions.
This month we announced a landmark deal for the successfully concluded arrangement of 70 million dollars in Term Financing for Pakistan Mobile Communications. This latest transaction by Citi includes the extension of US $40MM term financing (in equivalent PKR) to Mobilink, backed by the US based Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), as well as the arrangement of an additional US $30 million in foreign currency financing from the Dutch development bank FMO.
Another recent example is the US $100 million Syndicated Islamic Financing Facility for Pakistan International Airlines, which is structured against international ticket receivables. This is the first foreign currency commercially syndicated financing for a Pakistani corporate since 2007.
3. Citi has led the Pakistani market with bespoke e-payment solutions for a diverse range of clients - could you comment on this latest digital innovation?
Digital innovation is amongst Citi Pakistan's unique, dominant strengths - the bank has a leading, global state-of-the-art electronic banking platform which is used by the government and public sector entities, MNCs, top-tier local corporates and other financial institution clients. We have a track record of providing bespoke electronic payment solutions to over 100 leading multinationals, which equals over 50 percent of the market share in Pakistan. Amongst other innovative offerings, we provide CitiDirect (the bank's online payment portal for its institutional clients group) to facilitate payments for several clients in Pakistan. We have recently introduced the Citi Prepaid Card and the Citi Commercial Card to further enhance productivity and operational efficiency for our multinational and public sector clients. These are incidentally also industry 'firsts' in Pakistan and have gone a long way in enabling us to continue leading the financial services sector in the country. We work closely with our diverse client base to continuously raise the bar for providing them with off-shore sources of funding including export credit agency backed financing as well as structured trade solutions.
Globally, Citi is like a digital resource network platform where everyone has the ability to learn from each other and adapt successes as best practices. Amongst many other contributions, Citi pioneered the ATM in 1977 and the first card in Google wallet in 2011.
4. Citi pioneered Consumer Banking in Pakistan in the early nineties. What is the bank's current consumer strategy in Pakistan? Yes, that is correct - Citi pioneered the concept of Consumer Banking in the early 1990s, introduced the first 24/7 customer service line (CitiPhone) as well as Citigold Priority Banking. The bank continues to focus on its consumer business (Liabilities products and Bancassurance products) in order to provide best-in-class services to its select consumer banking customers in the major cities of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
5. Citi has been the training ground for nurturing talent in Pakistan - what investments do you make in your human capital that have enabled this to emerge as a best practice for other organisations to follow? Citi's people remain its greatest asset - we strongly believe in respect, empowerment and providing an enabling environment for our people to excel. We are proud to say that Citi Pakistan has and continues to be recognised as a provider of talent not only within the global Citi network, but also amongst local and regional banks. Citi Pakistan's alumni have and continue to play an important role in contributing to the country's financial services sector as well as to the regulatory sphere. Citi greatly values the voice of its employees - these are some of the key factors that make Citi an 'employer of choice'.
6. 2012 marks Citi's 200th year globally - could you tell us a little about the celebrations? 200 years is a milestone and marks an important inflection point in the company's history. We want to take stock of how we have built our strategic and financial foundation, and define the kind of Citi we will be for the next 100 years. We recognise that Citi's excellence is a result of the people we employ and want to make sure all employees are involved in this pivotal moment in Citi history. Additionally, we are putting our enduring principles and new strategies into action to build our future, and really felt that our 200th anniversary offered the perfect opportunity to help colleagues around the world develop connections with the principles that drive our success.
7. One of Citi's key operating principles is 'responsible finance' - how has the Pakistan franchise contributed to social governance and corporate citizenship in the country?
In addition to being value-additional, innovative partners in progress for our diverse client base, one of our core principles is to invest in the communities where we operate. In Pakistan we have aimed at incorporating a long-term, sustainable community engagement programme into our mainstream business strategy. Our focus has been on creating strong social networks and meaningful partnerships in order to impact sustainable development. Citi Pakistan's social governance roadmap is two-pronged: it incorporates financial investment from the Citi Foundation (Citi's philanthropic arm), coupled with on-the-ground volunteer efforts. Our annual grants through the Foundation focus on three pivotal areas: microfinance, education/ vocational training and financial asset building for youth. The eventual aim of all our corporate social responsibility initiatives is poverty alleviation and generating sustainable livelihoods, with an emphasis on vulnerable groups and minorities, particularly women.
Citi Pakistan has recently been awarded three international CSR awards at the Global CSR Summit, Asian-Intel CSR Awards and at the International CSR Summit, for our pioneering work in the microfinance and education spheres in Pakistan. Therefore contributing towards measurable, sustainable community programmes is a core part of Citi's strategy, both globally and in country.
8. What is Citi's vision as it looks ahead? What will be the bank's strategy in Pakistan going forward? Citi opened its doors for business in Pakistan in 1961. Today, the bank looks ahead with excitement at the growth prospects in the country - we remain committed to working closely with our diverse range of Public Sector, MNC, top-tier local corporate and financial institution clients, in order to provide them with value-added solutions and structures to meet their evolving business needs.
We continue to explore meaningful opportunities for our clients in the international capital markets. Further, we look forward to working in conjunction with other market participants to raise the bar for credit enhanced financing; both export credit and structured credit. We also continue to focus on bespoke e-payment solutions for our public sector and multinational clients as well as on providing structured trade solutions for the energy sector. Citi Pakistan is core to Citi's emerging market footprint - we look to the future with excitement and optimism.