Citibank Singapore is set to see a vitalized drive towards expansion as the American lender shared major targets on hiring, assets and clients following the launch of its new wealth hub in Orchard.
Citi will look to double its assets – currently with $280 billion under management – and triple the number of clients by 2025, according to a report.
To achieve this, the bank will also look to hire over 330 relationship managers.
Alongside the latest opening of its wealth hub – a four-floor 30,000 square feet space that can accommodate over 500 people with current restrictions and an extra 100 without – the bank is also seeking to build one or two more hubs in the city-state but no timeline was shared. It also has over 70 wealth hubs and client centers in the broader region to serve its affluent customers.
One of the key reasons for the selection of Singapore as the hub of choice, according to Citi’s head of consumer banking for Asia Pacic and Europe, Middle East and Africa Gonzalo Luchetti, is trust.
You have a stable, well-tested framework, under which you can operate, he said. It gives clients the trust that you really need in the business of wealth.»
In addition, Luchetti also highlighted the geographical location, a strong economy, large amounts of local wealth and talent pool as other reasons.
In line with the overall industry trend, Citi has benefited in digital adoption in a model Luchetti described as «light-physical, high-digital».
Less than 1 percent of transactions in Singapore executed at branches and year-to-date, retail sales of mutual funds digitally doubled compared to the same period in 2019.
Although the bank has reduced space occupied – 10 outlets in Singapore, down from 14 at the start of the year – it maintains that a physical presence and human touch from relationship managers will continue to matter.
One of the bank’s key strategic approaches will be to leverage its overall network and capabilities to serve the full spectrum of wealth – from the emerging affluent to ultra-high net worth individuals – by creating closer links between the private bank and the global consumer bank, benefiting from the former’s product capabilities and the latter’s transactional capabilities.
The ability to offer mass affluent clients the type of access to global and institutional caliber insights from the private bank sets Citi apart, Luchetti added.
This is one of the key things that we see as our differentiators – that we can grow with our clients as their wealth journey moves forward.