Latin America has always rewarded banks that can live with complexity. Regional corporate treasures rarely deal with a single challenge: currencies move, politics shift and commodity cycles turn. National champions increasingly find themselves buying assets, raising capital, managing liquidity and hedging risk across borders.
That is where Citi’s Latin American franchise has become most valuable. With more than 120 years in Latin America, Citi has learnt how to connect local knowledge with international execution in a way that matters for large corporates.
Citi’s Latin American business is its oldest franchise outside the US. It now serves clients across 19 countries in the region, supported by about 9,000 employees. Its corporate bank works with more than 1,300 corporate, public-sector and financial institution clients, as well as 5,000 multinational subsidiaries from 65 countries, in coordination with Citi’s global network banking team.
Latin America’s largest companies are no longer looking only for domestic balance sheet support. Many are expanding into the US, raising capital offshore, managing dollar and local currency exposures, acquiring assets, reorganising supply chains or building treasury models that cover several countries at once.
At the same time, multinationals operating in Latin America need a bank that can interpret local regulation, local liquidity and local market behaviour without losing sight of the parent company’s global priorities.
More than credit
Citi’s strength in Latin America comes from pairing balance sheet capacity with a broader set of solutions for large corporates. Its strongest fit is with companies whose needs are complex, strategic and cross-border: corporates that require advice, execution, liquidity, risk management and market access, often at the same time.
In 2025, that combination was especially relevant. Latin American corporates faced volatile rates, currency pressure, political uncertainty and shifting investor appetite. For many, the challenge was not simply to secure funding but to choose the right market, currency, structure and timing. Citi’s regional platform gave clients access to local market knowledge, international capital, treasury infrastructure and risk management expertise at a time when those choices carried unusually high consequences.
The result of this focused strategy is a Latin American franchise that feels less like an imported global model and more like a bank shaped by the region itself
The product development behind that proposition is most visible in corporate treasury. Real-time Liquidity Management allows treasurers to share balances or move funds across accounts near real time, helping release payments faster and reduce liquidity buffers, prefunding and borrowing needs.
Citi Token Services applies blockchain to near-real-time cross-border payments, liquidity transfers and automated trade finance around the clock. Payments Express, built on Citi’s proprietary stack and CitiConnect APIs, is designed to scale payment volumes while improving availability and cost efficiency.
Integration has also become faster. The Citi Developer Portal has cut manual client touchpoints by 65% and reduced go-live times to 12 days, from 80 to 100 historically. In trade, Citi Digital Bill replaces paper bills of exchange with digital bill discounting, while its Infor Nexus-powered open account tool checks invoices against purchase orders and transport documents, automating approval and giving suppliers earlier visibility over funding.
The result of this focused strategy is a Latin American franchise that feels less like an imported global model and more like a bank shaped by the region itself. Citi’s model in the region is based on a corporate banking model that reflects what the region’s largest companies have become: more international, more sophisticated and more exposed to events beyond their home markets.
