Citigroup expects to receive regulatory approval for its wholly-owned onshore China brokerage unit as soon as this month, according to sources familiar with the matter. The final clearance, which would allow the bank to launch a fully owned securities entity after applying in late 2021, may coincide with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Washington. Upon receiving approval, Citi plans to roughly double the unit’s headcount to around 100 staff by the end of the year, drawing from internal transfers across Asia and local mainland hiring.

The new unit is seeking licenses for A-share brokerage, underwriting, research, and principal trading. Citi intends to leverage its established onshore corporate banking base to win equity and M&A mandates, targeting key growth sectors such as technology, healthcare, consumer, and artificial intelligence. The move brings Citi into direct competition with dominant domestic brokerages and Wall Street rivals—including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley—which reported surging onshore profits in 2025 driven by institutional trading activity.

Citi’s expansion underscores Beijing’s ongoing efforts to grant foreign financial institutions greater access to its domestic markets, even amidst broader geopolitical friction and recent pullbacks by select foreign asset managers. The onshore initiative complements Citi’s existing offshore China investment banking operations, supporting the broader profitability targets set by CEO Jane Fraser.