Citibank’s Hungarian operation has announced strong end-of-year results for 2007, which reflects its growing structured products business. The bank reported double-digit growth in all areas of business, including structured and capital-guaranteed product sales.Citibank Hungary’s treasury offers retail clients a wide range of products, including structured products, and tailor-made solutions. Most are risk-reducing strategies, said Benoit Savaria, EMEA head of Citi channel structured sales. “We have to take into account that the structured retail business in the Hungarian market is still relatively new. However, a number of products that have been marketed among higher net worth clients will be adapted to be sold among the mass affluent,” he added.
The bank also reported an increase in the scope of its investment product suite, which, as well as 92 mutual funds, now includes more than 20 structured notes from different issuers, including both full protection and capital-at-risk structures.
Citibank Hungary’s treasury department vowed to maintain its leading position in derivatives trading on the local market and continues to promote structured products based on in-house analysis and research. The bank aims to be, “...pro-active in the market, with new ideas that offer exposure to sectors with good prospects for growth,” concluded Savaria. As is common with other markets, Citibank offers domestic investors tranches in both euro and Hungarian forint.
It also announced the recent introduction of a new version of Citi Treasury’s online trading platform, which provides clients with access to foreign exchange markets.
Citibank has been marketing BNP Paribas Snowball certificate among Hungarian investors. Snowball Basket of Shares Certificate offers hard protection and is linked to the performance of a basket of 16 international shares from different industry sectors. The product, a three-year knockout, pays 7.5% and 15% coupons in the first and second years of investment, respectively, provided the underlying basket is at or above 70% and 65% on the first and second observation dates. If this condition is met at maturity, the product pays a 122.5% return. Snowball Basket of Shares Certificate had a target sales volume of €5m.
