Citi Announce New ETF Custody, Fund Administration Services in Latin America

Citi C has extended its leadership position in both custody and fund administration for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in Latin America with new mandates from BlackRock in Brazil and Mexico. Citi supported the launch of BlackRock's two new ETFs in Brazil investing in carbon and public infrastructure and has expanded its relationship with BlackRock in Mexico with the conversion of the largest ETF product in Latin America. “We have a long-standing relationship with Citi across the range of our exchange traded funds in Latin America and these mandates further our collaboration to provide investors with efficient access to these markets,” said Armando Senra, BlackRock Head of the Latin America & Iberia Region. “With Citi's knowledge of the specialized needs of ETFs and local market infrastructure and global expertise, we are able to spend more time with our clients and at growing our business.” Citi's regional assets under custody are in excess of $8 Billion. At the end of the third quarter 2012, Citi's regional ETF services market share stands at approximately 80%. "We are truly pleased to expand our collaboration with BlackRock and to continue to support them with our local and global capabilities in trade execution, custody and fund administration throughout Latin America," said Alejandro Berney, Head of Securities and Fund Services for Latin America, Citi. “Over the last few years Citi has concentrated on further enhancing our global support for Exchange Traded Funds. By joining our specialized ETF knowledge, local market infrastructure and global expertise we are pleased that we have been able to deliver solutions to our trusted partners. We are dedicated to continuously ensuring we remain on the frontier of delivering market innovation to our partners.” Citi OpenInvestor currently provides services to eleven ETF managers in nine markets around the world. By offering custody, administration, index receipt agent, liquidity, depositary receipts and Citi's trading services across both active and passive ETFs. Citi focuses on delivering comprehensive support from strategy development to IPO and implementation. "With Citi's more than 70,000 people and on the ground presence in 24 countries, we are exceptionally positioned to provide local and global capabilities in trade execution, custody and fund administration throughout Latin America," added Berney. “Leveraging the depth of Citi's expertise, we deliver local access, insight and expertise to support the growth of our clients' ETF businesses in Latin America.” Citi OpenInvestor is the investment services solution for today's diversified investor that combines specialized expertise, comprehensive capabilities and the power of Citi's global network to help clients meet performance objectives across asset classes, strategies and geographies. Citi OpenInvestor provides institutional, alternative and wealth managers with middle office, fund services, custody, investing and financing solutions that are focused on their specific challenges and customized to their individual needs. For more information, visit openinvestor.transactionservices.citi.com