Local and Multinational Companies are Assisted by Citibank Romania in Identifying the Best Trade Solutions

Over 30 professionals representing multinational and local companies attended the "Trade Services and Finance Conference", organized recently in Bucharest by Citibank Romania, part of the largest trade services network in the world.

The purpose of the event was to present the complex trade finance and trade services capabilities available at Citi and help clients and prospects to identify relevant trade financing opportunities, which are of great interest in the present days.

The attendees worked with the bank's local and regional experts to explore how Citi's trade services and finance solutions could best benefit their organizations.

Based on the bank's experience of delivering world-class solutions to suppliers and buyers, the speakers discussed ways of saving on supply chain costs, controlling financing in a more profitable manner and enhancing risk mitigation.

The themes and the speakers who covered the aforementioned themes are as follows:

Post - Crisis Trends in Trade and Global Flows, Sameer Sehgal - Citi EMEA Trade Head

Export & Agency Finance - structured long term financing solutions to support capital expenditure projects and cross-border trade, Umut Emre - Citi EMEA Vice President Export and Agency Finance

Supplier Finance - Optimize Working Capital, Improve Operating Margin & Secure Supply Chain, Bhavna Saraf - Citi EMEA Vice President Supply Chain Finance

Trade Solutions for Importers and Exporters, Sameer Sehgal - Citi EMEA Trade Head

The event was opened by Tibor Pandi, General Manager of Citibank Romania, who talked about the increased importance of trade for companies worldwide. He also noted: "Companies are interested more than ever in optimizing transaction turnaround times and funds flow timing, in expanding into new markets while minimizing risk and maintaining competitiveness and also in developing a customized solution that matches their unique trade requirements. At Citi, we are permanently trying to bring cost and time saving benefits to our clients and that is why our bank is the preferred partner of around 15.000 corporations and financial institutions, in nearly 100 countries around the world.

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About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

About Citibank Romania

Citi has been present in Romania since 1996 and provides high-quality financial products and services to national and international companies, small and middle enterprises, the public sector, non-profit organizations and individuals. Additional information may be found at www.citibank.ro .

About Global Transaction Services

Global Transaction Services, a division of Citigroup's Institutional Clients Group, offers integrated cash management, trade, and securities and fund services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world. With a network that spans more than 100 countries, Citigroup's Global Transaction Services supports over 65,000 clients. As of the third quarter of 2010, it held on average $340 billion in liability balances and $12.4 trillion in assets under custody. For more information on Citi's Global Transaction Services, visit www.transactionservices.citigroup.com/transactionservices/home/