The national airline of the UAE, Etihad Airways has selected American multinational investment bank and financial services company Citi as its international cash management bank partner.
According to the statement, “Citi has also renewed its cash management mandate with Etihad, further assisting the airline with a major Treasury transformation journey, helping to move its automation, digitalization and overall efficiency to the next level.”
Etihad will gain access to Citi’s breadth of digital capabilities across working capital and liquidity management, payments and collections, reconciliation, and visibility, as well as working closely with Citi’s Innovation Lab to deploy several innovations in treasury management using AI-based and Application Programming Interface (API) technology.
Mr. Adam Boukadida, Chief Financial Officer of Etihad Aviation Group said that, “Etihad is committed to driving innovation and developing global best practices, and our finance teams are always looking for opportunities to use new technologies to enhance our operations. We look forward to working together and implementing more cutting-edge treasury solutions with Citi as our global partner.”
“We are delighted to continue to partner with Etihad on this transformation journey. We have a longstanding relationship with the airline, having been its cash management bank in more than 40 countries over the past 5+ years, and have watched it grow from strength to strength,” Ms. Elissar Farah Antonios, CEO of Citi UAE and MENA Cluster Head commented.
As per the statement, Etihad Airways has implemented several new capabilities using robotic process automation, machine learning, and AI through its internal digital innovation lab in 2021, saving 73,000 manhours as productivity benefits, which it will continue to expand through this partnership.
Furthermore, Etihad will explore opportunities to further improve its global leadership in sustainable aviation finance through collaboration with Citi’s ESG team.
Mr. Daniel Tromans, Group Treasurer of Etihad Aviation Group remarked that, “This partnership with Citi marks the next stage in Etihad’s Treasury Transformation Roadmap. We believe that Citi is the right partner to support Etihad’s treasury team to achieve best in class treasury performance through the use of their industry-leading digital and multi-banking solutions.”
