Citigroup appoints Elissar Farah Antonios as CEO of Citibank Lebanon

Elissar has been with Citi since 2005. She began her career in 1990 in London, and has served at several global banks with a focus on Arab private banking clients. Most recently, she was Head of the Citi Private Bank in the UAE and a senior banker handling top relationships. Elissar holds an M.B.A. from the Imperial College in London and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut.

"This is an exciting assignment and an opportunity to build on the success of the local franchise with an enhanced client offering," commented Elissar on her appointment. "Together with the Lebanon team, we will continue to provide the highest standards of banking service to our clients and to fulfill our role as an active member of the Lebanese banking community."

Citigroup's presence in Lebanon dates back to the 1950s when Beirut was the bank's hub for the region. Since re-establishing its fully licensed Lebanon branch in 1996, the bank has been offering a full range of corporate and investment banking services, including traditional trade, lending, and hedging products to major corporations and financial institutions operating in the country, as well as Public Sector entities.

In addition, Citibank Lebanon has evolved into an active corporate citizen with a particular interest in supporting financial education, microfinance and capacity building through various grants & scholarship support provided annually through the Citi Foundation.

"Citibank Lebanon is our oldest franchise in the region. For the past six decades we've built a good history and many time-tested banking relationships," said Atiq Ur Rehman, Citi's Chief Executive Officer for the Middle East. "Elissar's diverse experience and strong leadership skills will help us take our Lebanese franchise to the next level."

Citi has been in the Arab World for nearly 50 years and views the region as critical to its global franchise. It currently offers full scale corporate and investment banking services across ten Arab countries including Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, as well as Pakistan. Its consumer banking services cover Bahrain, UAE, Egypt and Pakistan, while it maintains close relationships with high networth clients in the region through the Citi Private Bank.