Citigroup Inc. is expanding its foreign-exchange business into hedge funds and
private-equity clients as global trading activity increases, according to FX
trading head Flavio Figueiredo. The bank aims to deepen its presence in segments
where penetration is currently low while maintaining strength in corporate and
real-money flows, and plans to increase its FX sales and trading workforce by
4%–5% this year. Figueiredo said U.S. dollar positioning is broadly neutral,
with expectations that investors may resume selling the dollar once the US-Iran
war stabilizes, while carry trades remain active and could support demand for
higher-yielding emerging-market currencies such as the Brazilian real, Mexican
peso, South African rand, and Colombian peso.
