Citi Gains Approval for Wholly-Owned Securities Firm in China

Citi received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on October 23, 2026, to establish a wholly-owned securities company in mainland China, making it the seventh such foreign-owned firm to gain entry[9][15][19]. This move marks a significant expansion of the US banking group's presence in the world's second-largest economy[9][15].

This development is expected to intensify competition within China's financial sector, prompting domestic firms to enhance their services in areas such as wealth management, derivatives, and cross-border investment banking[25][26]. Ultimately, this supports the broader goal of strengthening China's capital markets and real economy[25][26].

The Records Show

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) approved the plan for Citigroup Securities (China) Company Limited (CSCCL) on Friday, October 23, 2026[9][13][15]. The new entity will be headquartered in Shanghai and will begin with a registered capital of 1.2 billion yuan, approximately 178.6 million U.S. dollars[19][24]. CSCCL is permitted to offer a range of services, including equities brokerage, securities underwriting, securities research, and principal trading services to both domestic and foreign clients[10][13][14]. Citi aims to roughly double the new unit's workforce to about 100 employees by the end of 2026[16][18]. The approval arrived after nearly five years of regulatory review for the bank[15][17].

A Continuing Trend

China's financial market has been gradually opening to foreign institutions since Deng Xiaoping's Open Door policy in 1978[1]. Key steps in this process included the introduction of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme in 2002 and the Renminbi QFII (RQFII) scheme in 2011, which allowed foreign investment within set quotas[3]. Foreign-funded financial institutions in China have consistently shown growth in asset size and revenue[2]. Citi's approval follows similar entries by J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas, UBS, and Mizuho as wholly foreign-owned securities firms[19]. Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, noted that Chinese assets meet the growing demand from global investors for diversification[4]. Separately, on October 13, 2026, the People's Bank of China approved Visa's application to prepare for establishing a domestic bank card clearing institution[20][22].

Citi's Perspective

Citi's history in China spans over a century, with its initial establishment in 1902[6][8]. Wenjie Zhang, Citi China Country Officer and Banking Head, stated that the new securities company