Banking giant Citi has announced plans to grow its commercial bank in Ireland.
The lender said it will now begin to lend to mid-sized businesses in the manufacturing, pharmaceutical, life sciences, professional services and healthcare sectors that are planning to scale internationally.
Until now, Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) had primarily been focused on providing services to digital and tech companies here.
CCB has been operating in Ireland for around five years.
Citi currently employs around 2,900 staff in this country.
"The expansion of Citi Commercial Bank in Ireland adds to our already comprehensive offering," said Davinia Conlan, Citi Country Head for Ireland.
"From Ireland, we now provide clients with a broad spectrum of Citi's global products and services."
Craig Duignan has been appointed as Head of Ireland for CCB, as part of the plans.
He joined the bank in 1998 and since then has held multiple roles across operations and technology relationship management.
In 2019 he moved to CCB to work on its plans to grow the digital, tech and communications business across Western Europe.
"We are delighted to appoint Craig as Head of Ireland for CCB," said Auke Leenstra, Western Europe Head for Citi Commercial Bank.
"Ireland is an important market for us and this expansion is another step of progress in our European CCB strategy."
"It follows successful launches of CCB in France, Germany and Switzerland over the last 12 months."
As part of its expansion, Citi is currently constructing a new building at Waterfront South Central in Dublin.
