Citi in Greece has said it believes strong theme-based investments are the way to the heart of Greek investors as it launches its Basket of Agriculture Commodities Note.
"Greece has a highly investment-research and theme-driven structured retail market and Citi utilises that research to be proactive in the market with innovative ideas," EMEA head of Citi channel structured sales Benoit Savaria told SRP. "We are working on a number of strategies linked to underlyings that can offer tailored exposure and are in line with current market trends."
The Agriculture note, which was sold in both US dollar- and euro-denominated tranches is a three-year, capital-protected product linked to the performance of a basket of agricultural commodities (comprising wheat, sugar, corn and soybean). Participation is 85% (euro version) subject to semi-annual averaging.
"We have specifically designed products to fit the needs of retail investors in Greece. We are also working on other products that are ideal for investors who want exposure to well-researched underlyings (including country indices, emerging markets, commodities or climate change), but who also want a safety net to protect the downside risk on their investment," said Savaria.
Citi confirmed that it has also marketed four medium term notes with the same two-currency format this year via Citibank Consumer Bank: two private placements and two public offers. The average issue size for these is between €10m and €20m.
