Exclusive: Citi to Offload Retail Business CitiFX Pro

Citigroup's foreign exchange (FX) broker is close to a sale to an established player in the retail segment of the market, Finance Magnates has learned from several sources.

The news comes just three months after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) abruptly abolished the floor from the Swiss franc exchange rate, prompting Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term providers to tighten their conditions.

After the SNB move, a number of banks have tightened margin and capital requirements, forcing several retail brokerages to look for alternative liquidity providers. In reassessing the risks, some LPs have sent notices to their clients about changes to their accounts, while others simply received termination notices. In particular, the aftermath of the Black Swan Black Swan A Black Swan event is most commonly associated with an unforeseen calamity or event. In its most basic form, this event results in disastrous consequences for multiple parties, markets, or individuals and are characterized as extraordinarily rare in frequency, yet are seemingly predictable in retrospect. In the foreign exchange space, the most noteworthy of these events in recent memory was the Swiss National Bank (SNB) crisis which roiled currency markets back on January 15, 2015.During this in A Black Swan event is most commonly associated with an unforeseen calamity or event. In its most basic form, this event results in disastrous consequences for multiple parties, markets, or individuals and are characterized as extraordinarily rare in frequency, yet are seemingly predictable in retrospect. In the foreign exchange space, the most noteworthy of these events in recent memory was the Swiss National Bank (SNB) crisis which roiled currency markets back on January 15, 2015.During this in Read this Term event it saw Citi suffering $150 million in losses.

CitiFX Pro's solid client base would set any retail broker as a robust market player

It is understood that the majority of the clients of CitiFX Pro are institutional investors, with a collective deposits pool of over $50 million. As the broker relies heavily on liquidity from the bank’s own liquidity providing unit, it seems the tightened conditions have pushed the management to put it on the market.

With a solid client base and the strong impact that such a deal could have for a company's profile, positioning it as a robust market player, it is hardly surprising that established retail brokers were bidding for the asset.

CitiFX Pro is not the first retail foreign exchange unit operated by a major bank to close down. In 2011, Deutsche Bank parted with its dbFX retail unit after selling the clients list to GAIN Capital. In a recent interview with the company's CEO, Glenn Stevens stated that the company is "looking for further acquisitions in the UK".

CitiFX Pro is said to possess a customer base of mainly of U.S. clients. However, in the wake of the SNB, there could only a handful of companies which are interested in acquiring new clients in the U.S.

Finance Magnates reached out to CitiFX who stated that, "we do not comment on rumors or speculation."