Citi expands Asia FX options desk with three senior trader hires in Singapore

HONG KONG, July 28 (Reuters) - Citigroup has appointed three senior traders to its foreign exchange options desk in Singapore as it seeks to boost its regional market-making and risk management capabilities, according to a company statement on Tuesday.

The Wall Street lender appointed Eric Poon as director on its FX emerging markets options trading team in Asia, reporting to Akshay Saxena, head of FX options for Asia Pacific.

Poon brings 20 years of trading experience across G10 -- the ten most heavily traded major world currencies -- and Asia emerging market products, joining from BNP Paribas after roles at OCBC Bank, and RBS.

Richeng Zheng joins as a G10 options trader, reporting to director Nicky Lam. Zheng joins from Bank of America, where he served as the sole G10 options book runner in the Asia time zone.

Ying Zhou will join the desk in August as an EM options trader, reporting to Saxena. Zhou joins from Deutsche Bank in Singapore, specializing in exotic derivatives and FX options.

The hires come as Citi strengthens its global FX options franchise.

In the second quarter of 2026, Citi reported a 17% increase in overall markets revenues to $7.0 billion, with Fixed Income markets revenue rising 7% to $4.7 billion on higher foreign exchange volumes.

(Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)