The project
Citi’s London-based FX Data Toolkit team has been using Cosaic’s ChartIQ charting system since 2015 to provide historical, real-time analysis and advanced visualizations to the Global FX business.
In 2019, Citi made a strategic investment in Cosaic, supporting the vendor’s development of its smart desktop platform, Finsemble, which links applications together to allow the end user to work more seamlessly with customized workflows. In 2020, Cosaic and Citi began the implementation of Finsemble across Citi’s Institutional Client Groups (ICG), including capital markets and private banking. Using Finsemble, ICG currently deploys 550+ applications to approximately 4,500 users across the globe.
Product managers and developers globally benefit from faster tech innovation and ease of deployment, and sales and traders benefit from a more efficient, integrated desktop experience. Citi’s users can deploy new applications, integrating them with existing workflows and applications quickly. As a result, Citi was able to create a universal UI across all applications for end-user workflow and a unified “smart desktop” experience. Users can also automate workflows and make faster trade decisions.
“This investment shows our confidence in Cosaic as a leader in smart desktop technology.”
—Kevin Foley, managing director, markets electronification, Citi
An example
Citi’s London Equities team has started onboarding of applications onto Finsemble. They have also developed a proof of concept in leveraging Finsemble’s interoperability feature for a more integrated user-experience across trading workflows.
“Citi saw a possibility in Finsemble that it could transform the workflow on both the buy-side and the sell-side. Every sell-side firm is not only looking at how they can make their employees more efficient and more effective in their role, but also how they can make technology, data, research, and trade execution more valuable and tightly integrated into their clients’ workflow. Finsemble has helped Citi achieve that vision.”
—Dan Schleifer, CEO, Cosaic
Best Implementation at a Sell-Side Firm: Finsemble + Citi
“One of the most substantially important trends we’re seeing in the capital markets space is this push to make desktop applications interoperable with other third-party and internal apps, and Cosaic has proven itself a leading vendor in this space. For proof, one only needs to look not just at Citi’s financial investment in the company, but the fact that the bank is using it to improve its FX desk’s capabilities.”
