DUSHANBE, February 2, 2012, Asia-Plus — According to the press center of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), Citibank has shut down loro accounts of some Tajik banks.
An official source at Tajik central bank says the closure of loro accounts of Tajik banks has resulted from financial difficulties of the American bank.
“Citibank has severed correspondent banking relationships with banks that are carrying out small banking transactions,” said the source. “This concerns not only Tajik banks, Citibank has severed correspondent banking relationships with small banks in other countries as well.”
According to him, Tajik banks may establish correspondent banking relationships with other American banks.
The source noted that the Citibank’s decision to sever correspondent banking relationships with Tajik banks bears no relation to economic sanctions imposed by Western countries on Iran.
Meanwhile, international media sources report that U.S. banks have severed correspondent banking relationships with banks in nearly 40 countries of the world. MIGnews.com reports that American banks justified the decision by non-transparency of local customers that, according to the Federal Reserve System, “launder dirty money through offshore companies.”
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York. Citigroup is reportedly the third largest bank holding company in the United States by total assets, after Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase.
Citibank has retail banking operations in more than 100 countries and territories around the world. More than half of its 1,400 offices are in the United States, mostly in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C. and Miami. More recently, Citibank has expanded its operations in the Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, and Dallas metropolitan areas.
In addition to the standard banking transactions, Citibank offers insurance, credit cards and investment products. Their online services division is among the most successful in the field, claiming about 15 million users.
