Jordan ‘island of stability’ – Citibank

By Omar Obeidat

AMMAN –– Citibank sees Jordan as an “island of stability” for expanding its business not only in the local market but to enter other regional countries through the Kingdom.

“Jordan is a stable country that has the right policies and the right stability not only politically but also economically, and it is also very well connected,” Mayank Malik, chief executive officer of Citibank Jordan, said in an interview with The Jordan Times Sunday.

He said the world’s largest bank is considering the country as a regional hub and gateway to Iraq, Syria and the Palestinian territories.

Malik said in addition to sound monetary policies in the Kingdom that proved prudent during and after the global financial crisis, Jordan enjoys a high rate of qualified and educated human power.

“Over 90 per cent of the bank’s staff are locals while in other regional countries it is the other way around,” he noted, adding: “So we look at exploring all available opportunities in the region and how we can do that from Jordan.”

The Citibank executive stated that Jordan was selected as the first country out of 53 countries in Europe, Africa and Middle East to launch new services that seek to expand bank’s businesses in Jordan and the entire region.

The reason behind selecting Jordan, Malik said, was the economic and political stability in the country.

The new services include providing commercial banking services to medium-sized companies in Jordan to meet these companies’ increasing trade requirements, while another initiative, called Global Subsidiaries Group, aims at offering financial and capital management services to multinational firms.

jordantimes