Citigroup lures shipbroker executive

Citigroup lures shipbroker executive    Citigroup Inc. has hired a director from a London shipbroker to develop its physical shipping operations as the bank seeks to expand its commodities business, Bloomberg reported Monday.
   The bank has lured Alistair McLuskie, a director with Simpson, Spence & Young Ltd., the world’s second-largest shipbroker, to join as director of physical freight on April 1, Citigroup said in an e-mailed statement. He will report to Boudewijn van Vliet, head of freight.
   “We see more and more need to have tailor-made hedges and therefore we need to be able to offer physical freight,” Van Vliet said in an interview with Bloomberg.
   Citigroup appears to be trying to keep pace with rivals Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, all of whom have been investing in commodities carriers.
   Van Vliet said Citigroup is responsible for 15 percent to 20 percent of trading on freight derivatives, a roughly $35 billion market. Operating ships will also help to improve Citigroup’s knowledge of the physical freight market, aiding its derivatives trading, he said.