Thailand's state enterprise bank, Government Savings Bank, has entered into a partnership agreement with Citigroup to establish GSB's international banking business.
Both parties have been collaborating for the past six months for an anticipated launch in early 2007.
The strategy involved Citigroup providing knowledge and training to Government Savings Bank (GSB) and its staff members to help establish the international banking business, which hopes to offer trade services, international funds transfers and foreign exchange services.
Under the terms of the agreement, GSB will utilize Citigroup’s global infrastructure and expertise to provide an international banking service with access to over 100 countries. With Citigroup’s existing HUB processing and online capabilities, GSB hopes to structure a cross-border solution that will achieve synergy between its own domestic strengths and Citigroup’s dominant position in the regional and global international trade business.
We aim to be a competitive, secure and reliable financial institution and as such are seeking ways to improve our business efficiency and coverage both locally and internationally, said Goanpot Asvinvichit, GSB president and CEO. This partnership with Citigroup will enable us to establish an international business efficiently and cost effectively utilizing Citigroup’s global infrastructure and expertise. We hope the benefits from this partnership will not only allow us to attain global reach, but enable us to support our local customers’ international banking requirements.