Citi is looking to build on its social finance efforts across South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Dubbed the Citi Social Finance team, this group will comprise over 20 bankers from the bank’s existing teams and will provide expertise on the subject matter and support its clients’ efforts to expand access to basic services for underserved populations.
The Asia-based bankers will span country management and businesses, including corporate banking and commercial banking in Citi’s markets of Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Each country will have a dedicated social finance team that partners with businesses to develop programmes and debt solutions including term debt, bonds, initial public offerings (IPOs), securitisations as well as partnering with development agencies and impact investors.
"Citi is uniquely positioned to enable clients and partners to scale the delivery of products and services that improve the livelihoods of underserved and low-income communities across the emerging markets. The team will focus on solutions that improve the livelihoods of low-income communities. Asia is a market where we have a large and diverse pipeline across countries and sectors, including economic inclusion, healthcare, infrastructure, food security and education. We are excited about the opportunities we have to use our network to support local communities further," says Jorge Rubio Nava, Citi’s global head of social finance.
The move to focus on Asia will further support Citi’s existing work across social finance in the region. For instance, the bank has already financed a partnership to mobilise affordable housing loans for low- and middle-income populations in Indonesia. It has also provided US$20 million ($27.2 million) in funding to ASA Philippines, a non-profit corporation that specialises in microfinance, to support its work with women entrepreneurs.
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According to the bank, these transactions will support its commitment to finance and facilitate US$1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030. Its efforts in Asia will also contribute towards its global efforts to support economic progress for 15 million low-income households, including 10 million women, by 2025.
