Weekly Global News Wrap: Citi to lift junior bankers' base salaries; StanChart begins banking services in Saudi branch

And JPMorgan acquires ESG investing platform OpenInvest.

From Reuters

Citigroup will lift the base salaries of its junior investment bankers, according to an internal memo, days after media reports of a similar move by rival JPMorgan Chase.

The memo, dated 2 July, said the salary raises for program vice presidents, associates, and analysts in the Wall Street firm's banking, capital markets, and advisory division would be effective from 1 July.

The bank has previously said that most of the roles at Citi would be designated as "hybrid" post-pandemic, allowing employees to work from home for up to two days a week. This is in contrast to Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs which are envisioning a return to office like before the pandemic struck.

From Reuters

Standard Chartered (StanChart) began offering banking services through its branch in Saudi Arabia with a team of 25 people as it boosts its presence in the country.

Saudi Arabia granted StanChart a banking licence in 2019, which helps it to expand beyond the capital markets business it has conducted in the kingdom since 2011. In addition, StanChart was amongst the other banks recently hired to lead energy giant Saudi Aramco's inaugural dollar Sukuk issue that raised $6b.

Western financial institutions have sought opportunities in Saudi Arabia since the government unveiled plans to privatise state assets and adopted reforms to lure foreign capital as part of an economic strategy to cut dependence on oil.

From CNBC

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to buy San Francisco-based environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing platform OpenInvest.

JPMorgan approached OpenInvest when the start-up was close to wrapping its Series B funding round, according to people with knowledge of the deal.

It’s the third acquisition of a fintech start-up by JPMorgan since December, when the bank bought 55ip, a company that automates the construction of tax-efficient portfolios. In June, JPMorgan said it was acquiring UK-based robo-advisor Nutmeg to help boost its overseas digital banking efforts.