Asia Pacific: Citi to Increase Female Representation in Its Investment Banking and Markets and Securities Services Summer Analyst Intake

Hong Kong – Citi has rolled out a new program in Asia Pacific to support the bank's commitment to gender diversity. Through a new Early ID Women's Leadership Program, Citi is targeting at least 50% female representation in its annual summer analyst intake for its Investment Banking (IB) and Markets and Securities Services (MSS) businesses.

These are areas where female representation has typically been more challenging than in other areas of banking and financial services. Through the program, Citi aims to invest and develop a pipeline of potential female bankers for these businesses.

First piloted in North America in 2017, the Early ID program aims to identify, mentor, and hire diverse talent early. Open to students prior to their penultimate year in college or university, candidates selected for the Early ID program can secure early spots in Citi's Summer Analyst Program.

The 50 high achievers selected for the inaugural Early ID program in Asia Pacific will have a chance to be recruited early for Citi's 2022 IB and MSS Summer Analyst programs.

Split equally between the IB and MSS streams, the 50 candidates were selected from a pool of over 1,200 applicants from over 590 tertiary institutions worldwide. Upon the completion of Early ID, they will each have a chance to interview for a spot in the respective 2022 Summer Analyst programs. Those who are successfully selected will have the opportunity to work in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, China or Korea.

Since mid-April, they have been part of a virtual five-week Early ID program that includes:

• One-on-one mentoring with key business representatives
• Virtual training and business specific workshops
• Networking opportunities with senior representatives across the bank
• Intensive interview preparation

"At Citi, we actively seek out diverse perspectives, ideas and experiences. Through the Early ID Women's Leadership Program, we can identify high-potential talent much earlier on and give them the right experiences and tools to succeed. The program imparts knowledge, helps candidates build confidence and enables them to experience the organization by building connections with senior leaders and mentors," said Ingrid D'Lima, Head of Campus Recruitment and Employer Brand for Citi Asia Pacific. "Early ID Candidates who are recruited for Citi's Summer Analyst Program will later have the opportunity to join the bank as entry-level hires through our Full-Time Analyst Program, enabling us to build a stronger pipeline of female talent for our Investment Banking, and Markets and Securities Services businesses. Through these efforts, we hope to be able to advance female representation not just for Citi, but the broader financial services industry."

Citi's annual Summer Analyst Program is a 10-week internship aimed at high achieving penultimate year students and offers hands-on work exposure, as well as mentorship and training.

The Full Time Analyst Program aims to convert as many successful summer analyst candidates as possible and is a two-year program. The two-year program gives entry-level hires access to networking, mentorship, and ongoing training and development.

As part of its commitment to being an employer of choice, Citi continues to introduce innovative recruitment tools, programs and opportunities. In response to the impact of COVID-19 on youth employment in Asia Pacific, Citi last year committed to offering 6,000 jobs and 60,000 job skills training opportunities for young people through to 2023.

Citi Asia Pacific was also the first to launch virtual reality programs to support campus recruitment. Open to students worldwide, the free self-paced online programs were designed to give students insights to life as either an Investment Banking or Markets and Securities Services Analyst through various modules.

Towards the end of the online program, students were presented with a business problem and invited to submit their solutions. Those with submissions that stood out would have the opportunity to be contacted by Citi for permanent roles or Summer Analyst positions.