Citi’s global transaction services (GTS) division has launched a new Latin America trade desk in Asia to link its Latin American and Asian clients.

Based in Shanghai, the new desk will provide the bank’s clients with a gateway to more than 3,000 correspondent bank relationships in Asia, and integrated solutions in Latin America and Asia to optimise cross-border trade settlement processes.

Citi’s GTS division has a network that spans more than 95 countries with over 65,000 clients. As of the fourth quarter of 2011, it held on average US$368bn in liability balances and US$12.5trn in assets under custody, the bank says.