Citi has announced a new Citi Country Officer (COO) for Pakistan, with a veteran of the Citigroup, Ahmed Bozai, taking on the role that will see him assume responsibility for driving Citi’s business in the country.
The appointment has garnered interest from different quarters of the finance world in Pakistan, thanks to Citi’s long history of influence on the country’s financial outlook. As an advisor to the Pakistan government, and the bank that has produced the most financial leaders in Pakistan.
The bank counts amongst its most influential alumni two former federal finance ministers – Shaukat Aziz and Shaukat Tarin. Out of these two, Aziz went on to become Prime Minister. They also include two provincial finance ministers – Murad Ali Shah of Sindh and Hashim Jawan Bakht of Punjab – out of whom Shah went on to become provincial chief minister.
Until this most recent appointment, Ahmed Bozaid had been the Chief Operating Officer for the EMEA Emerging Markets (EMEA EM) cluster based out of Dubai. He has previously worked with Citi in Pakistan, Greece and the United Kingdom in a number of areas, including Corporate Banking, Treasury & Trade Solutions, and Operations & Technology.
“I am delighted to return to Pakistan after almost twenty years, and particularly excited with this opportunity to lead Citi’s franchise,” commented Ahmed on his appointment. “Together with the Citi Pakistan team, we will continue to provide the highest standards of innovation and banking solutions to our clients and fulfil our role as an active member of the Pakistani banking community.”
Bozai is one of the more significant new faces that has arrived after the retirement of former Chief Executive Officer of Citi in Pakistan, Nadeem Lodhi. Lodhi retired in October 2020 after he reached the age of superannuation at Citi. While his replacement had not been announced, in the meantime, Moiz Hussain Ali, the Markets and Securities Services Head for Citi ,has been officiating as the acting Chief Executive Officer of Citibank Pakistan.
However, as CCO, Bozai will be reporting directly to Elissar Farah Antonios who has been recently appointed as the Head of Citi’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) cluster.“Ahmed’s diverse international experience and his knowledge of our Pakistan operations will be of great value to our clients in Pakistan,” said Atiq Rehman, CEO-Citi EMEA EM cluster about the appointment. “As we celebrate our 60th anniversary in the country this year, we are confident that under Ahmed’s leadership the franchise will continue to flourish and support the needs of our local and global clients.”
As a Profit feature has pointed out almost a year ago, while Citi is not by any stretch the oldest foreign bank in Pakistan, it is the one that has most captured the Pakistani imagination. Historically, the bank in Pakistan has been much smaller compared to its competitor, Standard Chartered, but holds more prestige as a place of employment. In recent times, Citi has reaped the rewards of a consistent and against the grain strategy.
Back in the early 2010s, foreign banks were closing shop in Pakistan. RBS Pakistan, which had acquired ABN Amro’s assets in Pakistan, sold off its operations in the country to Faysal Bank in June 2010. HSBC had announced its intention to sell off its Pakistan branches in early 2012 as well. And, at the time, it had become widely understood that Barclays was struggling in Pakistan and likely to exit the market entirely. So the idea that Citibank might be thinking of exiting Pakistan – while still a shock – was not entirely inconceivable.
Despite everyone around them leaving, Citi persisted, and in the eight years since 2012 has proven to be correct in their faith. The global bank remains committed to its corporate and investment banking operations in Pakistan and – in 2019 – passed an important milestone: it earned higher profits than at any point in the last two decades, and likely in its history in the country.
Bozai will be hoping to continue the same trend. Citi has a proud history internationally, and is a leading international bank with approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.
Operating in Pakistan since 1961, for the last six decades, the bank has been offering a full range of corporate and investment banking services to major local and global corporations, Public Sector entities and financial institutions operating in the country. Citi has also been an active corporate citizen with a particular interest in supporting financial education and microfinance in Pakistan. From the initial messaging that has come from the bank after Bozai’s appointment, there are not really any big changes in the offing.
With their recent success in terms of profits, it will be hoping to cement its place in Pakistan even further. As Citi’s former CEO, Nadeem Lodhi, once expressed at an event in February 2019, Citi is “a trusted advisor to the government of Pakistan. The first Sukuk bond was in 1996 with Citi (a floating rate bond). We have led every [bond offering] transaction for the sovereign.”
Among the major global capital markets players in the world – it is the only one that has a longstanding presence in Pakistan, and one that it has used in order to help the government of Pakistan gain access to cash from global investors for its bonds and to help Pakistani companies gain access to global investors. In addition to this Citi has always had a model in which they have innovated for the Pakistani financial market, and has at different times led innovation in Pakistani banking, including basic moves such as being the first to introduce credit cards to Pakistan.
With Bozai’s experience in international markets and his knowledge of the Pakistani market, this tradition looks to be in safe hands. The hope is that he will prove to be an asset to Citi and its customers, will continue to provide the highest standards of innovation and banking solutions not just to Citi clients, but also be a leader in Pakistan’s banking landscape.
Welcome back.
Ex Citi Bank employee