First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are pictured with James Bardrick, Citi Country Officer, United Kingdom. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

PETER Robinson and Martin McGuinness MLA announced that US financial services company Citi is investing £54million creating 600 new highly skilled jobs.

Citi Belfast, located in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, already employs around 1,500 staff providing a range of support services to the global organisation.

Announcing the 600 new jobs, First Minister Peter Robinson said: “This £54million announcement creating 600 new jobs by Citi, one of the most prestigious financial services companies in the world, reflects the firm’s confidence in its Belfast operations and its continuing commitment to Northern Ireland.

“The Financial Services sector is at the heart of the economy and the decisions and transactions that take place in Belfast will impact across the globe. The £35,000 salary that these jobs will attract reflects the skill set and calibre of individuals required to fulfil these roles.

“Northern Ireland continues to draw a range of highly skilled companies and this by decision Citi to reinvest in Northern Ireland is the strongest possible endorsement of what we have to offer.”

The deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “Citi ramping up its presence here is outstanding news. This significant expansion by the corporate giant Citi will inject over £21million of new salaries to the local economy annually.

“Citi’s presence here over the past ten years has played a major role in developing the financial services sector both in providing jobs and training. This reinvestment will create much needed highly skilled jobs and also increase the skills base of the financial services sector by introducing specialist investment banking functions.

“Citi has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries, so this announcement will create exciting opportunities for graduates and people who may wish to return home to the north of Ireland.”

The company first set up a technology operation in Belfast in 2004 and since then has made a number of reinvestments, expanding services to include Operations & Technology, Legal, Compliance and more recently Human Resources.

Invest Northern Ireland has offered Citi support of £5,968,000 and DEL has offered £246,000 under its Assured Skills programme.

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster said: “Citi is the foundation of Northern Ireland’s Financial Services sector and its continued presence and expansion is critical to the development of the sector.

“Citi’s latest investment will increase the skills base in the sector and sends out another strong message of support for what Northern Ireland can offer international investors.”

Dr Stephen Farry, Minister for Employment and Learning, said: “I welcome that the support my Department offers through the Assured Skills programme has helped secure this substantial jobs announcement from Citi. This will expand their current workforce by 600 new jobs in their Belfast site. The 350 job roles supported by DEL will be in their Global Functions and Front Office roles.

“In this very competitive market place, a highly skilled labour force is essential to support business growth and expansion. The decision by Citi to create these additional jobs shows the continued confidence the company has in the talent and skills available in Northern Ireland to support their business needs. I am committed to working with our inward investors and local companies to help them meet their business objectives. Assured Skills funding from my Department will ensure that the organisation has the support necessary for training initiatives to develop the skills required for these new roles.”

James Bardrick, Citi Country Officer, United Kingdom, said: “The success of our current operations in Belfast was an important factor behind this latest decision to create another 600 jobs. The supply of talent in Northern Ireland, particularly at graduate level, is impressive and, coupled with the support from Invest NI and DEL, it makes this region highly attractive to a global company like Citi seeking the best location for growth.”