Citi has opened its new regional headquarters at Kingdom Tower in Riyadh, marking a major step in the US banking group’s regional expansion strategy and alignment with Saudi Arabia’s regional headquarters programme.

Citi received its regional headquarters licence from the Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Commerce in November 2024. In January this year, the bank appointed Naveed Kamal as CEO of Citicorp’s regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing its local leadership structure.

As part of the launch, the Citi Foundation announced a $500,000 grant to the non-profit organisation Education for Employment (EFE) to expand its Future-Ready Youth Employment and Skills Programme across five Middle East and North Africa (Mena) countries. The initiative will focus on developing digital and green skills among more than 700 young people, with at least 280 expected to secure job placements upon completion.

The programme builds on more than a decade of collaboration between Citi Foundation and EFE to promote inclusive employment pathways for low-income youth across the region.

The regional headquarters programme forms part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to strengthen its role as a regional financial and investment centre, requiring international firms that do significant business with the government to establish their regional headquarters in the kingdom.