Citi Indian wealth unit winding up nears end

The local advisory subsidiary of multinational bank Citi has entered the final stages of voluntary liquidation as the bank consolidates the advisory business in Asia.

A Kenya Gazette notice said Citi had appointed a liquidator Anthony Makenzi Muthusi for Cititrust (Kenya) Ltd, which had housed Citi’s non-resident Indian (NRI) business unit that gives foreign-based Indians products and services booked offshore with Citibank India.

Cititrust operated in Nairobi providing personal banking services on the basis of its investment advisory licence granted by the Capital Markets Authority.

The licence has since been surrendered to the regulator as part of the winding-up while the staff, including the chief executive, left in 2014 when the process began, Citibank Nairobi said in response to our queries.

“Currently, Cititrust has no staff. Arun Mathur, the former Non Resident Indian Africa head and the staff he formerly supervised in the NRI business, left in 2014 when Citi made a global decision to consolidate the NRI business in Asia,” said Citibank Nairobi.

However, Citibank will continue to provide the same advisory services through its banking arm in Kenya.

“Citibank, N.A. Kenya Branch still continues to undertake advisory deals in the country, so that aspect of Citi’s business in Kenya is unaffected,” the bank said.

“Citirust was incorporated in Kenya in 1981…It housed the non-resident Indian business unit until 2014 when Citi made a global decision to consolidate the NRI business in another jurisdiction and hence the process to wind down Cititrust Kenya Ltd commenced in 2014 and is now in the closing stages,” added Citi.