JTC buys Citi Trust for $80M

Citi Trust, a division of Citigroup which has a significant presence in northern Delaware, has been sold as a way to streamline the company’s organizational structure. | DBT FILE PHOTO BY MIKE ROCHELEAU

WILMINGTON — JTC, a public professional services provider, has continued its streak of acquisitions, as it has announced it will purchase Citigroup’s global fiduciary and trust administration services Citi Trust for $80 million.

Citi Trust serves more than 2,000 high-net worth clients across seven jurisdictions like New York, Switzerland and Singapore. The agency’s rolodex includes clients that have been with the firm for roughly 12 years.

Total assets under management at Citi Trust were estimated at $70 billion.

JTC representatives said that the company plans to integrate the existing Citi Trust team, as they are “very much a part of the acquisition, which will provide further growth following JTC’s other acquisitions.” Citi Trust employed around 200 people, which brings JTC’s head count to 420 people.

In a prepared statement, JTC CEO Nigel Le Quesne called the deal transformational for his firm, most notably its private client services division, while growing in key markets in the United States, Europe and Asia.

“Citi Trust is one of the most established and well-respected providers of trust services globally and we are delighted to have been chosen as the future custodian of its employees and clients,” Le Quesne said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to welcoming their highly experienced team to JTC, so that together we can capture the future growth opportunities that the global trust and administration market offers.”

Based in England, the JTC has been aggressively growing in the market and has made splashy headlines with acquisitions of New York Private Trust Company, South Dakota Trust Company, and First Republic Trust Company of Delaware over time.

The sale comes on the heels as Citigroup looks internally on how to streamline operations and its structure while cutting costs. The move was made in hopes of saving billions of dollars, and has also seen Citi sell off pieces of its consumer banking business in international markets. Earlier this spring, the banking giant sold off nine of  its consumer banking businesses in 14 regions and had more planned.

“The decision to sell our personal trust administration and fiduciary business allows us to focus our resources on areas that will create impact for our global clients and drive growth for our wealth business. We will continue to provide clients with leading investment management, wealth planning, lending and banking services, while JTC will provide the highest quality trustee and fiduciary services,” Citi Private Bank Head Ida Liu said in a prepared statement.