Citi Wins Chinese License for Securities Unit With 1.2 Billion Yuan in Capital

Key Facts

Citi has won approval to launch a wholly owned securities company in China with registered capital of 1.2 billion yuan, or 180 million dollars, according to Bloomberg’s summary of the decision published on October 23, 2026. The approval gives the bank direct access to the mainland securities market, where it had been unable to conduct investment banking activities without a license. Citi’s international chief said in an interview published by Bloomberg that this was "important to us because we cannot currently do anything related to investment banking on the mainland." The decision follows a lengthy regulatory wait, and the available materials did not provide details on when actual operations would begin. The license is a step toward expanding the bank’s presence in a market the report described as its second-largest international market after the United Kingdom.

The activities Citi sought to conduct include A-share brokerage, underwriting offerings, research and proprietary trading in the local market, according to sources cited by Reuters. This scope enables the unit to serve local market transactions through a wholly owned entity, complementing the bank’s cross-border services for corporate and institutional clients. But the license does not mean all these activities have already begun; published information does not specify an operating date or details of subsequent operating licenses. Citi’s international chief had said the lack of a license prevented it from conducting investment activities on the mainland. Starting operations across the requested scope would put the unit in direct competition with other global investment banks that have established wholly owned securities entities in China.

The application process began in late 2021, according to an earlier Reuters report, while Caixin said China’s securities regulator listed the application in December 2021 and accepted it on December 28, 2023. The process moved slowly for nearly five years before approval, Bloomberg reported, amid complexities tied to changes in China’s data security rules and tighter U.S. regulatory scrutiny. Caixin described the process as taking more than four years before clearing the final review. These milestones place the current approval at the end of a multiyear regulatory review, rather than as a decision separate from the original application. The report did not specify when the unit would begin operating after receiving approval.

Before the approval, Citi planned to increase staffing at the unit to about 100 employees by the end of 2026, through staff transfers and overseas hires, Reuters reported, citing sources. It did not say whether the target had changed after the license was issued or how staff would be allocated across the new activities. The hiring plans are part of the bank’s effort to build a local presence that supports the business covered by its license application. The report also said that executive Ernesto Cantu, who visited the mainland in March, planned to return in November. It did not link the visit to a specific timetable for launching operations.

Citi’s license takes it into a market that already includes wholly owned units operated by U.S. competitors. Goldman Sachs’ Chinese securities unit reported profits of 1.46 billion yuan in 2025, while JPMorgan’s unit recorded 984 million yuan that year, according to Reuters. Those results offer an indication of the scale of existing competition in the sector as Citi seeks to expand its local activities. Bloomberg said the goal of the bank’s international chief was for Citi to become the leading global investment bank in China. The license therefore provides entry to a competitive market, while execution of the plans remains contingent on the start of operations and the formation of a local team.

In trading, Citi shares closed at 123.85 dollars on October 21 and 122.51 dollars on October 22, according to EL7 data. The closing price on October 22 was the same as that recorded on October 20. These prices precede the approval announcement published on October 23, so they do not measure the market’s reaction to the news. The data provided did not include verified closing prices for rival banks’ shares. Cantu is scheduled to return to the mainland in November, according to the report, while no specific date was given for the unit to begin operating.