On Bloomberg --
Citibank Belgium SA, a unit of New York-based Citigroup Inc., said it will sell mutual funds managed by 10 U.S., U.K. and Dutch money-management firms to investors in Belgium through its 240 bank branches.

It marks the first time Belgian investors will be able to buy funds managed by firms such as Denver-based Janus Capital Corp., Boston-based MFS Investment Management and London-based Mercury Asset Management, the company said.

Citibank Belgium, the biggest U.S.-based retail bank in Belgium, said it reached separate agreements over the past few months with the 10 fund managers to sell the funds beginning Monday.

The Belgian fund market is the ninth biggest in Europe with total assets of about $120 billion. The market is the second- fastest growing after Italy, said Guy Hendrix, a Citibank Belgium spokesman.

"We believe there is a growing appetite for retail funds in Belgium and we're responding to customer demand," Hendrix said.

Citibank Belgium is adding 250 funds that it can market because of the agreements with the 10 outside money managers, Hendrix said. The bank already sells 60 proprietary funds, he said.

Citibank plans to initiate similar fund marketing initiatives in other European countries over the next few years, Hendrix said.

The company said the fund managers that Citibank Belgium is linking with are -- Janus, MFS, Mercury Asset Management, Scudder Kemper Investments Inc., Threadneedle Asset Management, Robert Fleming & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Templeton Worldwide, Invesco Asset Management and Robeco NV. 

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