Citigroup (NYSE:C) Head of Services Shahmir Khaliq told conference attendees that the bank’s Services business has focused on investing in technology, talent, and client engagement to deepen wallet share and drive profitability, while helping global clients manage a complicated macro and geopolitical environment.
Leadership and Services overview
Khaliq said he has served as Head of Services since 2023, following organizational changes announced by CEO Jane Fraser. He described Services as a combination of the bank’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) business—payments, liquidity, and trade services—and Securities Services, which includes Investor Services and Issuer Services.
What clients are focused on amid geopolitical and trade uncertainty
Khaliq said client discussions have remained “robust,” citing issues including U.S.-China relations, Russia-Ukraine, Venezuela, and changes tied to the U.S. administration and tariff-related supply chain concerns.
He outlined how priorities vary by client segment:
- Corporates: Access to capital and financing, maintaining global treasury operations, keeping supply chains “unimpacted,” working capital financing, and free cash flow.
- Banks and broker-dealers: Best execution “at the cheapest price point” across retail, wealth, and markets activities.
- Public sector: Greater efficiency in areas such as payments and management of holdings of treasury bills and securities, particularly in an environment of higher fiscal deficits.
- Asset managers: Shifts toward private markets and how to structure middle- and back-office functions, as well as reducing costs to improve performance in public holdings.
- Fintechs: Demand for “Banking-as-a-Service” and what he called “Bank-in-a-Box,” with Citi engaged given what he described as the industry’s largest fintech client set.
Khaliq said Citi’s ability to pair “global expertise” with local market knowledge and innovation has been “mission critical” for clients and has supported profitability and wallet share growth.
2025 results and performance versus targets
Khaliq said Services delivered a “record fourth quarter” and reported full-year 2025 revenue of $21.3 billion, up 8% year over year. He also cited a ROTCE of 28.6%, which he said was slightly higher than what was set out on investor day. He attributed the performance to both net interest income and fees, noting NII growth of about 12% and fee growth of 6%.
He provided several operating metrics he said underpinned results, including:
- Deposits up about 7% year over year
- Loan book up about 9%
- Cross-border volumes (in dollar terms) up 10%
- Clearing volumes up 5%
- Assets Under Custody and Administration (AUC/A) up 24%
He said the AUC/A growth outpaced MSCI growth of about 17%, which he described as reflecting net new inflows. Khaliq also said the business recorded a “record number of new wins” in 2025, helping set up what he called a strong start to 2026.
Against the 2024 investor day framework, Khaliq said Citi had outlined low- to mid-single-digit revenue growth and ROTCE in the mid-20% range, and he characterized 2025 performance as above those benchmarks. He said Services’ 2023-2025 revenue CAGR was 8% and that the revenue CAGR since the 2021 investor day was 14%.
On wallet share, he said Services gained more than 200 basis points in both institutional TTS and Securities Services, and that Citi doubled wallet share in its Commercial Bank segment, which he described as previously suboptimal.
Growth priorities and technology agenda
Looking ahead, Khaliq said growth is expected to be driven by three primary building blocks: deepening penetration with large institutional clients (including Fortune 500 companies, where he said Citi banks more than 80%), continuing to grow share with Commercial Bank clients, and aligning client strategy with product modernization and innovation investments.
He emphasized a principle that “innovation is all about integration,” arguing Citi aims to commercialize new capabilities by integrating them into existing services and anchoring them with key clients. He highlighted several initiatives:
- AI applications across technology, agent support, client interactions, operations, and servicing; he cited account-opening document review as an example where processes that “took hours” can take “minutes” in testing, with oversight.
- Single Event Custody Processing for asset servicing, intended to reduce multiple “touches” between sub-custodian, global custodian, and asset manager; he said Citi is the only bank able to roll it out globally due to its sub-custody footprint.
- Citi Payment Express, which he said is live in about 22 markets, with about 40% of payment flow transactions now running on the new infrastructure.
- 24/7 clearing, which he said is being used by about 300 banks.
- Digital assets, including an internal blockchain connected to key Citi branches, which he said moves “billions of dollars” of client money every month.
Durability of revenue streams amid tokenization
Responding to a question about whether blockchain tokenization could threaten “crown jewel” revenue streams, Khaliq said the world is “not homogeneous,” pointing to borders, FX controls, liquidity controls, and capital controls. He said he expects differing modernization speeds across economies and argued the industry’s direction will center on integration and interoperability between conventional and digital rails.
Khaliq said Citi is investing in both 24/7 conventional infrastructure and blockchain-based token strategies, while engaging with industry participants and financial market infrastructures (FMIs) on interoperability. He said he expects tokens, crypto, fiat, and tokenized securities to coexist and said Citi aims to help build “the infrastructure of the future” while continuing to evolve alongside clients.
About Citigroup (NYSE:C)
Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City with roots tracing back to the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. The modern Citigroup was created through the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group and has since operated as a diversified bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments and institutions worldwide.
Citi’s principal businesses include retail and commercial banking, credit card and consumer lending products, wealth management and private banking, and a full suite of institutional services.
