Citi to offer agency lending in Greece and Poland

Citi Securities Finance has widened its securities lending network to 38 countries by offering agency services to clients in Grece and Poland

The bank will act as lender for Greek equities and Polish bonds and equities following close work with Greek and Polish legal and tax specialists to facilitate the ability for foreign borrowers and lenders to access these markets.

The addition of Greece and Poland to Citi’s lending network will open both countries up to new sources of liquidity and support the development of their local capital markets. The move comes at a fractious time for Greece, which has been under pressure from the European Commission and Eurozone peers to find a resolution to reduce its budget deficit. Two weeks ago, finance ministers of the 16-country Eurozone analysed a proposal by the country to cut its debt to less than 3% of gross domestic product, down from 12.7%, by 2012.

On 26^th January international investors bought around EUR20 billion of Greek bonds, though appetite tailed off by the end of the week.

Tim Douglas, global head of securities finance, Citi, said: “Our continued expansion of our securities lending offering underscores our leadership and ability to leverage our global presence and local market expertise in order to benefit our clients around the world”.

The move into Greece nd Poland continues the bank's foray into new markets. Three years ago it entered Taiwan, one of the strongest Asian markets for corporate bonds.