Citi strengthened its position as one of the world’s leading Islamic finance institutions in 2025, combining scale, product expertise and international distribution capabilities to maintain its role at the centre of the global sukuk market.
Building on more than four decades of experience in Islamic finance, the bank continued to invest in its franchise while helping issuers navigate a year marked by regulatory change, evolving investor demand and increasingly sophisticated financing requirements.
A defining feature of Citi’s Islamic finance business in 2025 was the breadth of its platform. Operating through a regional hub in the UAE, supported by dedicated Islamic finance capabilities across its global corporate and investment banking network, and a specialist presence in Malaysia, the bank was active across sovereign, financial institution and corporate issuers.
Its integrated origination, structuring and distribution model enabled it to arrange more than $31 billion in sukuk issuance during the year, solidifying its position as the leading US franchise in the asset class. The scale of its distribution network, including a global sukuk syndicate platform and more than 1,000 sales professionals worldwide, allowed Citi to connect Middle Eastern issuers with increasingly diversified pools of international capital.
Citi played prominent roles on some of the largest and most strategically important sukuk transactions in the market, supporting sovereign issuers … while also advising leading corporate and financial institution borrowers
The year also demonstrated Citi’s ability to adapt to changing market conditions. Regulatory developments in the UAE introduced new considerations around asset-title registration and grandfathering requirements for Islamic structures, creating additional complexity for issuers.
Citi played a key advisory role in helping clients navigate these changes, tailoring solutions to individual circumstances while ensuring continued compliance with Shariah principles. This advisory capability has become an increasingly important differentiator for the bank, supported by its long-established Shariah Supervisory Board and dedicated Islamic structuring expertise.
Landmark financing roles
Citi’s commitment to the business was further underscored through investment in leadership and infrastructure. During 2025, the bank appointed a new head of Islamic Solutions – based in Dubai International Financial Centre – who also assumed leadership of Citi Islamic Investment Bank in Bahrain. The move reflected a broader strategy to deepen product capabilities, strengthen client coverage and expand the firm’s influence across the Islamic capital markets ecosystem.
The strength of the franchise was evident in the calibre and diversity of mandates secured throughout the year. Citi played prominent roles on some of the largest and most strategically important sukuk transactions in the market, supporting sovereign issuers including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, while also advising leading corporate and financial institution borrowers. The firm’s work on landmark financings for Saudi Aramco, Public Investment Fund, DP World and Al Rajhi Bank highlighted its ability to serve issuers across sectors ranging from energy and infrastructure to logistics and banking. Several of these transactions achieved record-tight pricing, attracted exceptionally strong global investor demand and expanded participation from international accounts, demonstrating Citi’s ability to translate its distribution strength into tangible funding advantages for clients.
Another notable theme was Citi’s growing role in the development of sustainable Islamic finance. The bank supported several green and sustainability-linked sukuk transactions, including financings for Tabreed, the UAE district-cooling provider, and Omniyat Holding, the Dubai luxury real-estate developer. These mandates illustrated the increasing convergence of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and Islamic-finance objectives, and highlighted Citi’s capability to structure transactions that appeal to both conventional sustainable-investment funds and dedicated Islamic investors.
Additionally, the firm’s involvement in debut issuances – such as the inaugural international sukuk by Saudi mining company Maaden, and Omniyat’s first international capital-markets transaction – further demonstrated its ability to broaden the issuer universe and support the continued evolution of the global sukuk market.
