The E Business Strategies of Citibank Finance Essay

Introduction:

Citibank a name of a corporation established in New York City which stated late 19th century and has many mergers since, The company faced many challenges all the way, in the early 20th century the new method has been introduced to the world and world trade policy begin to take effect as capitalism took a new shape after the collapse of industrialism, they rely the changes around the world and people movements and migrations been a crucial factor in the trade industry. Citibank start thinking of a new tool that allow them to operate globally and freely especially the old school is starting to die and fade away like the slave trade in which was the biggest trade and was in some countries like Britain one of the main country income and the spin of the country empire economy, Citibank was one of those companies that took advantage of merging with other companies to deal with the changes in the world economy movements and dowel into the new world order. CITIBANK is a multinational company who operates globally and have a reputation of the new world banking leader who survived many hardships, for a clearer picture about the bank operation and strategies, the insight is clearly necessary into the multinational companies and how globalisation worked and developed, the new world banking and economic system has changed considerably as the computer age and the new e-business has made faster and transforming and transferring data took incredible speed and saved time for the banking process in which made it increase profit margin. The bank realise the vast changes in the world banking system and world economies, the bank starts to build strategies that allow the company to deal with these changes accordingly, the strategies included marketing strategy to study the competitions that lie ahead, the business environments such as government tax laws and legislations, the credit crunch that hit the world economy and force many clients withdraw their shares or sold their shares after the fear attacks the public, the bank merged with more than one company, the bank starts to sponsor some IT system solutions companies to save money on the data process expenses, because the IT system today is the main world business successful tool. The cash management system in the past was facing many difficulties such as transferring money around and paying employees and clients wages and interests and vies versa as clients and customers find it difficult to make monthly payments on their accounts as the transfer takes time to process and requires a large amount of employees to work on the clients files and report back to the headquarter. Citibank has changed its image to be different from the other banks through its services and operations, by offering close relationship with their clients and costumers online, providing such an excellent services has created confidence using the IT advance system and hanged the corporation working system of how process data, creating different IT computer systems such as the world link payment services, security and integrity platforms to manage payments and delivering data securely online. The Citibank latest e-business strategy is to be the world's leading e-business and online enabler, the bank strategy to reach more and more clients and customers through the e-business new clients and expand the profit working online and shorting the world distance and decrease the competition by support and sponsor any new and advanced IT solutions software, the way Citibank see the world competition today is online war the more company have power online and the more features on the websites the more have the ability to reach more partners and clients.

Citibank E-Business:

Citibank main strategy is to create the ultimate IT solutions by embark on a journey of an extensive research in all the areas such Sales, Marketing, finance market and stock market, plan a head the way e-business progress and recognise the faults in their operations between their branches and enhance the communication system by creating a whole new strategy that enable them to be number one online banking services. The Citibank using their powers and influence in the world as a multinational company to create laws that make things easy for their operations and to increase their profit margin and business growth especially in the financial market where the options and stock market increase values. The increase in the profit of the multinational market led to prosperity in the US market and Citibank was one of the biggest companies in the US who contributed in the profit and the prosperity of the stock exchange in the US market. The use of CitiDirect as a platform for Citibank online helped the Corporation to be more successful dealing with the customers online hence the speed of the process gave them a sense of creating new services as a single platform for integrating with customers all over the world, if they create one website they will resolve the communication and integration problems, in the next diagrams shows the intranet, a service which been create for employees of the company to communicate and help each other internally. SERVER-12 SERVER-11 SERVER-10 SERVER-09 SREVER-08 SERVER-07 SERVER-06 SERVER-05 SERVER-04 SERVER-03 SERVER-02 The Main Server-01 Figure 1 The Citibank intranet services. The diagram above shows the Citibank internet and intranet connections, the Network for large companies for messaging infrastructure, its topology diagram shows the main server of the network connected to all other companie's servers in different branches. Total Cash Citibank Financial Management Immediate Instant Access Mostly held to meet day-to-day working capital requirements Tactical 1-3 months Necessary for short term commitments such as tax or trade payments Strategic 9-12 months Used to meet Strategic requirements Figure 2 Financial services through online network The cash management always thinking of resolution of fast and efficient money transactions around the world, the bank looking for a way of pay and receive, the kind of system online that help the speed of any process of their accounts, and move as much money per day as possible to increase the daily return. The Citibank enabled the website users for large multinational companies to deal and do business online through this website, it has many features allowing these companies to transfer payments and receive interests and swap shares and bonds plus go online in their individual accounts and monitor the trade market, stock market, and financial market, as of the small companies the Citibank doesn't think it's necessary to create memorable website yet for them because their business cannot take the pressure of the expenses of creating website. Citibank for a long time has created world link payments services as a banking solution for every day customers all over the world with different currencies and excepting all manner of payments from cheques, cash, and electronically through their website as an automated payment, also provided cash machines in their branches as a self service for customers who are busy and the process is easy instructions on the screen to follow, the bank also provide hot line for customers to pay and receive through the hot line services. The new services have the best security and gourds online than ever before, the bank secures all website features and services offering secure streamline for data transactions and money transactions of credit cards, the process go through extremely strict pass words and pin numbers to identify the customer or organization through individual programme management. Citibank also offers some countries specific services, customers of those countries who needs consolidations of how to spend the credit been offered help line services of how to pay back the loans and other payments due in which made the Citibank special in a way and has leaded the correct services comparing to the Citibank rivals. The bank offers used multiple channels for marketing their products and services such as integrated investments options, the options are a financial market when customers use the online to buy options from the bank as a third party, the next diagram shows the percentage the bank charge for their customer's online services and explain to each one of them the concept of their charges. Figure 3 Citibank financial banking

Citibank and the financial markets:

The Market hypothesis: The financial markets operations and strategies, are dependable on the information and its speed and accuracy, the financial markets such money, trade, stock are depending on the input and output of data provided as prices going up and down, the bank depend on the season, the time, events and the changing of markets attitudes. The more information flow gained, the more the markets become predictable and easy to manage, as the Citibank as a seller of the shares and options in the financial market have to update the information regularly and not over react with this information or ignore it and find a way in between, and follow the right pattern to make a reasonable profit, the market prices cannot be predicted from old information and old data of access returns. The markets movements are more predicted by studying years of operations movements, such as statements and reports that shows when the sale go up and when it goes down, the study showed that the winter season the markets and its prices value increase from November till May and the summer season the markets and it s prices declines and investors will be advices not to deal in the markets. Everyday data online changing mode depends on the markets movements, the figures on the market changes every minute, and that is why the company has provided clients and customers online view of the markets and its online services. The table below shows how banks and other companies start the pullback in the exact time every year to avoid the market clash and lose money in the stock market, the using of S&P 500's cross the 7th of October / 2009 cross of its 200-day moving average, that will predict the pullback. Prieur du Plessis examined the old saying of "sell in May and come back in November", all investors and markets experts agree that the market prices are variable and un predicted but they all agrees that the markets in May has the last breath for investors and no one can predict the movements and the best time to come back are in November for all investors and dealers on the markets feel that the market is live again. The concept of" buy low and sell high", has effected on most investors and was astonishingly high rated on the search engine, which did provide readers about the quotation in thousand times, the Markets are extremely depended on the central banks actions such easy access for the public for credit cards and loans to generate revenue and action, other things is the government action for taxes and generate the taxpayers money to help investing in the markets and generate returns in the financial markets. After the market stabiles for a long period and return is satisfying, investors and dealers let the fear of change in the markets start to crawl into their hearts from the next move. Plessis, 2009 The study for this fear of the concept is not based on scientific evidence, it's just meth or maybe immoral and respectful omen used to justify the market's action in some way, but statistically study shows that the market raise in the period between November and May, decline in the period between May and November. Figure 6 the stock market between May and November The release of the five reasons to "sell in May and Go away" in the Tech Ticker website indicates that the old wall street saying, has affected the market last week after witnessing frightfully steep decline in the market and took every body by surprise, and the reason why it happened is the predictable markets of sell in May and go away has been effected by the unexpected turn of events. Todd Harrison stress that the reasons why it happened was five reasons, the first the false sense of security, fear factor, reverse M&A, Iran, The Dollar. The first reason, is the premium and interest sense and the concept has been lost, the fear component has become a key player, the reverse of M&A, and Iran with their advanced uranium enrichment and opening new mines has increase fears and speculations, the last reason was the falling of the Dollars against the Sterling and the Euros despite the US government money injection in the markets and help for the central banks. Task, 2008 The markets seasons not only depending on the seasons but also follow someone might descript it as a myth or psychological support to deal in markets such as the super bowl prediction of the markets, gave investors some ideas to predict the market for many years, by the writer of the article at CBS, money watch.com Allan Roth says that he was relieved by the media to label the super ball prediction as a myth. For this Theory, Citibank tactics are to follow the market prediction techniques and re-evaluate their strategy regarding investments mode. The events VS Markets: The super Bowl for many years claimed as a tool of market prediction, if the old American football team wins, the stock market will go down, and if the old national football league wins the markets will go up, those predictions never has been correct or has any effects on the market fluctuation, there are many other things that influence the markets such as weather and events such as world cup and the Olympics. Roth, 2009 The next world cup event in South Africa has brought with it many prediction about how the market will react, the prediction used all the sources available from the old statistical reports from the fear been created from terrorism act or the decline of sponsorships, for example, the shares in France GL gained 4.2% after won a contract related to South Africa world cup and despite the dip in the market 4% already the French have hope that close to the world cup the more shares will be sold and the market will back up, and even its still falling this year, the changing in the market still there is hope. Reuter, 2010 Despite the old saying sell in May and go away, the expected world cup event in 2010 in South Africa like any other world cup comes in the middle of the summer and help the market shares to rise and rate exchange to hit the roof, and that is because the rising event will bring with it changing of the public and the investors mentality about the old saying and find the event is an opportunity for trade in all markets. Foster, 2009 The stock market will rise because the extra demands in the stock markets as South Africa will buy the agricultural stock and other stock for visitors consumptions during the world cup, the financial market will rise because the investors will buy shares in South Africa regarding the running of the event such as the bids on matches results or on any marketing opportunity that might rise in the middle of the event. The weather circumstance always has been a prediction tool for investors as the market fluctuation cannot help investors to depend on only statistical ground, the investors and dealers think that the weather effect people mode for market and effect the public character psychologically, in the article by Kevin Kelly about study of the weather forecasts and how effect the market actions. The weather has effect on characters confidence and believes, to trade in the market and the weather circumstance became legendary concept among the trader, investors, dealers and everyone has relations with markets, the study shows that people betting depending on the weather forecasts became reality and ongoing operation, the study shows that those people who studied weather or became meteorologist and trading in the market and buying shares are more successful in the market that those studied business. Kelly, 2007 For this Theory, Citibank stock and financial markets management tactics are simple, studying the weather changing and clients and customers mode are important to build strategy that enables the bank's ability to control the ongoing changing and market movements.

Citibank macro and micro environments:

PEST FACTORS In this analysis, using the four factors such as Political, Economic, Social and Cultural and Technology to identify their problems regarding their business environments, for the Citibank tax and return has problems because of the governmental legislations attacks, Citibank find it difficult to stabilise their returns and profit even though the Citibank has been announced as the most profitable bank in the world reaching annual profit $3.59 billion since 1997 and by the year 2000 the Citibank exceeded $1 trillion in financial transactions. Citibank with the international law and diverse local laws and legislations in some countries forbids the increase of banks interests and charges, some countries the reason will be the religions and others helping the economy to boost by reducing the pressure on the public and provide with low taxes for foreign investors, with the bank offers many companies regardless of their attention and target of how to use the money has raised issues with the environmentalists and activists who are opposing the bank and raised unprincipled campaign attack at the Citibank and who ever use it, and this hit the business environment of Citibank, as rearrange the law and operation role might affect the company net profit. Gellene, 1989 The latest disaster of the credit crunch has left leading companies, corporations; enterprises lose their stabilisations in the markets, and the Citibank lost trust in the Wall Street and their money management structures as the Dollars fail and the Euro and the Canadian Dollar rises in the world financial market, with the falling of Enron in mind and the mighty scandal followed, Citibank managed to withdraw out of the responsibilities and the accusations that led to end of the giant company such Enron. Business Press, 2004 The answer to the Citibank surviving in the market like any other companies in the financial markets is they found investors who has been sleeping on their money waiting for just like this opportunity and the prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal one of those opportunists who injected nearly half a billion Dollars to Citibank investments which helped the bank survived the credit crunch and kept their position on the markets. Turk, 2008 The Bank's strategy, in those times where market are failed to cover the deficits, are to look for brand new investors who are waiting to carry the bank's out of credit crunch and financial disasters and avoiding the Bank from going to bankruptcy and administration. The 4PS FACTORS The value of the 4PS is massive because of its accuracy on impact, when using the 4PS analysis will discover what CITIBANK strategy in the past and compare it with today's financial performance when they reached the decline stage. Citibank products and services in the past have a target audience of investors and share holders doing business as basic transactions between banks, markets and investors and products and services were limited as technology were limited before the invention of the World Wide Web, clients and customers preferred the new system of online services which make it easy for investing in the markets and withdraw new target audience. Citibank pricing was standard and different for each services or products, the prices were valued on the customer or the company preferences to the bank as it was favourites and most prestigious and sophisticated customers first with exceptional prices, and the reason kept them in the game are the finest services to their customers and the using of the latest technological software solutions, as a customer can finally find their work done by a professional who uses the latest technology to speed the process, but with the soaring of the interest rates on their credit cards almost 30% has a reason for the company to allow and be able to provide credits to costumers. Lazarus, 2009 Citibank branches all over the world with most sophisticated locations, has played the mighty prominent roles in increasing the public demand in banking with Citibank and using their services and buying their products as the location were extremely convenient and easy access for the public and business like, the cash machines in the branches can do more than give cash, the e-business software in the machine enable customers or business like to do all variety of things, they can withdraw and deposit money, make transactions to and from the bank, read and print statements, book a meeting or chat to a manager through the machine and also can see statements and online markets screen to see the market operation life. Citibank promotions operation can be described as strong and up to date as any other powerful company, the company uses various channels to promote the company portfolio and retain the image as the best bank in the world who offers the best products and services to their customers, the bank merging with grandiose names has helped the company clear image and using the latest technology especially advertising on the web using clips and sounds technology helped to deliver the message of the company wealth and capabilities.

SWOT ANALYSIS

This analysis will help us see clear what CITIBANK going through clearly what their strength, weaknesses, what manner of threat and the opportunities that are available to them to use it to get ahead and survive the competition.

The Challenge for Managers:

Citibank managers first challenge are the tougher and smarter clients who starts to get wiser as their companies growing, the senior managers find it difficult to please their clients as their demand start to increase, the demand of using the e-payment by the small size companies start to grow and their demand to be equal with large size companies start to increase, on the other hand the competition in the banking business start to increase and other banks start to take the opportunity to offer these small sized firms the e-payment and e-business even though this technology is extremely expensive and very few banks have the ability and cash to run it. The Citibank market segments has developed and brought with it new challenge, the Citibank clients and customers increased development and improved self image, the new segments of the Citibank businesses needed special expertise from the Citibank to keep up with the demands of these companies, as these companies start to become tougher and wiser in the business industry which require from the bank to follow the progress of their clients closely and monitor their needs regularly, Citibank dealt with the changes wisely when they applied the new integrated software solutions which made them serve the vast majority of their clients sufficiently and used accurate date transactions and accurate data input which helped to satisfy their clients. Figure 11 Citibank financial management

The Citibank Latest Strategy:

Citigroup is the name of the Citibank and its mergers group who are the main stream for the business, has created a business structure contain the products and services that corporation want to achieve such as the e-city which will contain the e-consumer, e-capital market, e-asset management, each service has its own functions and targeted for specific customer needs to give a chance to cover all e-business requirements and the strategy includes the future new e-business if the clients or customer ask for more services online, the company will be ready to create one just like any other electronic business specified and required by customers, the bank trying to stop hackers and online thieves from hacks the bank online security system and ensure the clients and costumers of the security integrating on the web after the incident that led some hacker to obtain the costumers PIN number from the database. Robertson, 2008 Citibank as a leading world bank, have a strategy to own the used technology of the e-business and control the market of the technology solution as it is the main stream of bank business or any business, in the future is becoming more and more tech world and the business world is an electronic world, Citibank future plan is to use the main three steps, the first is to connect the bank database on the web, secondly is the transform this data into to be available to clients and customers, thirdly extend the web to reach more target audience. The Citibank (Connect Strategy) is to make all their clients and customers to be able to brows and interact with the bank and its service anywhere in the world and any time to suit the clients and customers time, the website designed specifically for clients and other corporate to be able to interact with payments, input and output data, transfer money, extend services or terminate, sign agreements and applications, acquiring information by chatting with managers online as a hot line services if the website wasn't enough to serve customers. The Citibank Transform Strategy came to mind when old process for loans and consolidation was too slow and the process use to operate in each country as follow: The local company applies for a loan and send it to the regional bank to study the application and go through the client files and portfolio to decide if all papers or requirements are in position, then sends the application to the central bank headquarter to study the query and process the application, then the decision will be taken from the central. 1The new transformation of the plan is to make only one application automated online and take several minutes to process as the e-business of Citibank has the database of all their clients and customers, they will be required only to fill the application and follow the online instructions, the results of such application will be depends on the clients and customers portfolio ranks and performance. The Citibank (Extend Strategy) is to extend services to include all small or large sized companies into one integrated system and change the old plan that was including favourites clients and customers, the new plan and strategy is to enable all of clients and customers to be able to use the full website and the automated services and products without restrictions. The Citibank knows that small business won't use the full length of the services and products because the size of the small companies didn't need the full services, but the increase of the competition and fear of losing their small sized companies, the bank were forced to follow new strategy and take drastic actions.

Conclusion:

Citibank always react to clients and customers queries and demands, the bank reaction in the past was to deal with the raising market and try to attract every day customers in the late 19th century by campaigning in the streets of New York and withdraw new migrants to open bank accounts, then early 20th century merging with other financial companies who start their new journey into the trade and stock markets, merging with the raising demands from a new kind of clients and costumers as new small ventures and small sized companies who wants their businesses to be managed by skilful bank and expertise, the reputation grow and the Citibank reached the technology age with ease. Citibank finds their way into the use of the largest software solutions there is and expands their vision and plans with careful strategy to invade and exploit the new invented tool. All the work and effort been done by the Citibank to expand and explore new roads to serve their clients and costumers the way they deserve, the age of technology is wide open for new ideas and the company vision is unlimited, the Citibank used the CitiDirect tool as a website is not the last integration system but it's a door for new ideas for more sup services and their latest vision is to integrate all clients in the Citibank database despite their names or portfolio, all clients will be the same and accounted as equal. Citibank future plan to own the technology solutions company to be able to lead the bank's business to better services and products online and be the number one again locally and globally and try to control the rate of exchange as its one of their priorities for banking and financial services.

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