Citi, a banking and financial services corporation in the Mena region, has signed an agreement with UAE’s national airline Etihad Airways to provide a Supply Chain Finance (SCF) solution to pay select suppliers.

The innovative financing programme will enable Etihad Airways to unlock liquidity and pay its suppliers almost immediately through funding provided by Citi. It also offers a highly customised structure that will cater to the airline’s supplier segment across the globe, and will facilitate access to liquidity across businesses of all sizes.

The partnership with Etihad Airways marks Citi’s first supply chain financing deal in the airline sector in EMEA and the first ever SCF partnership for Citi in Abu Dhabi. Equally, Etihad Airways will also be launching the programme for the first time. The solution will be rolled out in two phases with the first phase covering a select number of key suppliers, and will subsequently be rolled out to remaining suppliers in the second phase.

James Rigney, Etihad Airways’ chief financial officer, said: “Our suppliers are an essential part of the success of our business and we are happy to provide the tools that offer new credit and liquidity sources and accelerate their access to cash flow.”

“This project is a great example of how we can work together with Citi to improve access to finance for our suppliers and encourage their development in the region to build a sustainable and vibrant economy,” he said.

Steve Donovan, Citi’s head of Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) for the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey, said: “This is an important milestone for Citi’s efforts in support of the key airline sector in the UAE.”

“We are committed to providing the best supply-chain finance solutions to our clients, and place significant emphasis on developing a long-term partnership with Etihad Airways for the benefit of their suppliers.”

Citi has been present in the Middle East and North Africa since 1955, and offers full scale corporate and investment banking services in Egypt, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Pakistan and Iraq. Citi's institutional capabilities in the region include Treasury & Trade Solutions, Corporate & Investment Banking, Capital Markets Origination, Global Markets and Islamic Banking. – TradeArabia News Service