Hong Kong, November 7th 2012 - Citi, a leading global bank with operations in more than 100 countries worldwide, and UBS, a leading provider of wealth management, investment banking and asset management services, have announced a combined service offering that provides a comprehensive post-trade solution to broker-dealers in Asia Pacific. The partnership brings together the operational expertise and scale of both Citi and UBS to provide middle office, back office, clearing, asset servicing and custody capabilities to those broker-dealers seeking to minimize costs, while retaining operational flexibility.

The post-trade solution enables broker-dealers to focus on their core business and allows them to expand regionally without the fixed costs associated with maintaining operational infrastructure. Citi and UBS believe the cost pressures and regulatory change facing broker-dealers challenge the existing self-servicing model and present an immediate and unique opportunity to transform the post-trade landscape in the Asia Pacific.

“Firms are increasingly having to review their operating options given the extreme pressure on cost bases and a regulatory environment that is highly challenging and rapidly evolving. UBS believes that this will drive a preference for buying expertise to service business rather than developing processes and technology in-house which require significant investment and lead to an unsustainable level of fixed costs”, said Andrew Murfin, Regional Head of UBS’s Group Operations, “UBS and Citi’s recognized and proven capabilities in middle, back office and custody offers potential clients the ability to leverage the high quality technology, operating infrastructure and market expertise offered by both parties.”

“Citi is pleased to be working with UBS on this market-leading solution for the region. The collaboration reinforces our commitment to our clients, by continuously expanding our solutions to meet their evolving needs, as well as our commitment to the industry, by working with select partners to build operational infrastructures to better serve market participants,” said David Russell, Regional Head, Asia Pacific, Securities and Fund Services, Citi Transaction Services. “This solution is more relevant than ever and we are excited about being the first to offer a comprehensive post-trade solution in Asia Pacific.”

Through its Securities and Fund Services business, Citi’s industry-focused experts provide institutional investors worldwide with tailored solutions delivered through proven global platforms that feature modular, open architecture. With $12.8 trillion of assets under custody and the industry’s largest proprietary network, clients can leverage Citi’s local market expertise and global reach to extract value across the entire investment value chain

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker