After the pullback of BNP and Crédit Agricole from commodity trade finance business, obtaining finance had been very limited for exporters, importers and traders, as reported by the Financial Times.
Citi global trade head John Ahearn was quoted by Financial Times as saying that the bank would start by financing energy deals before considering metals and "soft" commodities such as wheat.
In the next three years, the bank aims to fetch over $200m in net income from the unit and has also appointed Kris Van Broekhoven from Deutsche Bank to serve as its head.
As Citigroup tries to revive its market share, other US investment banks such as Jefferies has also ventured into commodities markets and begun trading on the London Metal Exchange.
