Citi Commercial Bank will deliver automated origination and servicing capabilities to high-growth international markets in 2022 and beyond.

Citi Commercial Bank, which operates under the umbrella of the $2.3 trillion CitiGroup, plans to expand digital capabilities for its international commercial banking, Mark Sugden, Citi Commercial Bank global head of digital client experience, told Bank Automation News.

“To date, we have focused implementation efforts in the U.S. market,” Sugden said. “Now, there is a concerted plan to scale and deliver core client experience and features to remaining priority growth markets.”

The New York City-based Citi Commercial Bank, which services domestic and international business clients, already has implemented application programming interfaces (API) and services for data exchange, Venkat Vajipey, Citi Commercial Bank chief information officer, told BAN. The bank will build upon these technologies, as well as new fintech partnerships, to construct digital platforms for employee workflows and end-to-end origination for business clients.

Automation is a major focus for CitiGroup, with a 3% year-over-year increase in tech spend and investments in real-time consumer payments marking its business strategy. Citi Commercial Bank, in particular, has experienced 22% YoY increases in tech budgets over the past three years, Vajipey said.

Sugden highlighted upgrades to the bank’s commercial lending and client self-service processes as recent automation wins.

“We have created digital journeys for multiple product verticals such as cash, lending, trade and servicing, which span the product lifecycle from client request, documentation provision, underwriting and approvals,” Sugden said.

As part of the upcoming digital expansion, the bank plans to hire 900 employees during the next three years, although the number of new technology roles is unknown. Citigroup added 5,500 technology workers to its workforce in 2021.