Citigroup is on the verge of receiving final approval for its wholly-owned brokerage unit in mainland China by the end of September 2026, five years after filing its application. The bank will become the seventh foreign lender to hold a fully foreign-owned securities license in China, joining JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. The timing coincides with a planned Xi-Trump diplomatic meeting, lending geopolitical significance to the development. The new unit, staffed with approximately 100 employees, will focus on A-share trading, underwriting, research, and principal trading. Citigroup exited its consumer banking and wealth management operations in China in 2024 to concentrate exclusively on institutional markets.
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