US banking giant Citigroup plans to create 300 new jobs in the Republic as it continues to build out its European banking headquarters in Dublin.
The group's Irish-based European banking subsidiary, Citibank Europe, currently employs 2,500 people in the State, working in areas including corporate and private banking, treasury, markets, securities services and technology. The unit has a 11,250-strong total workforce across 21 European countries.
The expansion plans in the Republic in 2022 include new roles in risk, audit, finance and treasury as well as technology positions in the areas of cloud computing, software engineering and blockchain, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
It is also creating client-facing roles in its treasury and trade solutions business as well as in commercial banking. It is increasing the staff count in fund services too.
"This is an exciting announcement for Citi and for Ireland, " said Cecilia Ronan, chief executive of Citibank Europe. "Financial services has changed over the last 10 years and more change is on the horizon as the pace of digitisation increases."
Citibank Europe also said in its latest annual report, filed with the Companies Registration Office in recent days, that it plans to follow up a 22 per cent expansion of its balance sheet in 2021 to over $90 billion (€82.8 billion) with a further "significant increase" over the coming years as it grows its European government bonds trading business.
Asset growth
The growth in assets cemented the position of the company, which became Citigroup’s pan-European banking division in early 2016, before the Brexit referendum, as the fourth-largest commercial bank in the Republic.
The Irish Times reported last month that the 230,000sq ft, six-storey Citibank Europe headquarters in Dublin’s north docklands had been put on the market for €120 million as the bank searches for new office space.
"Citi's considerable footprint and its growth across multiple and diverse business functions in Dublin, greatly adds to Ireland's reputation as a global centre for financial services," said IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan.
Citigroup, which has had a presence in the Republic for over 55 years, is one of the largest international financial services employers in Dublin.
