US-based Citi’s wealth management business saw a sharp increase in new clients in early 2023, longtime veteran Shyam Sambamurthy told finews.asia, following a multi-year transformation across products, technology and more.

In the first quarter of 2023, Citigold and Citigold Private Clients (CPC) in Asia saw a 50 percent year-on-year surge in client origination, according to data provided by the bank, followed by a strong 2022 with continued momentum in the second quarter. Referrals from existing clients accounted for 40 percent of new client origination.

The two wealth segments target individuals with investable assets of $200,000 to $1 million and $1 million to $10 million, respectively.

«With our investments in our digital and infrastructure capabilities, coupled with our enhanced product, research and advisory capabilities that leverage our unified wealth business in Asia, we have significantly augmented our Citigold and CPC propositions,» said South Asia head of wealth Shyam Sambamurthy in an interview with finews.asia.

Product Shelf

In early 2021, Citi announced that it would form a single, fully integrated wealth management unit across segments, from retail to private banking clients. Since then, the bank has liberalized its platform to allow access to products previously unavailable to certain segments, most notably CPC which houses clients that qualify as professional or accredited investors.

«We are now leveraging the power of the unified platform to augment what we can offer,» said Sambamurthy. «For example, our CPC clients now have access to select investment products that were previously available only to the private bank, including private equity real estate, hedge funds and discretionary strategies.» 

Digital Wealth

In terms of technology, Citigold and CPC have also made significant strides, with nearly all wealth management products now digitally accessible to clients. It furthered expanded the digital offering with online mutual funds during the Covid pandemic and, most recently, the addition of fixed income access.

As a result, three out of four equity or FX transactions today are executed digitally. The bank also launched Citi Global Wallet in 2019 for clients to open accounts with on-the-fly conversion to up to 15 currencies, linkage to debit cards and an automatic top-up feature.

Managing and moving money aside, clients can access a digital library of curated content and a segment lounge which serves as a key interface to virtually access relationship managers, set up physical meetings, track investment holdings and conduct other activities. 

Talent Development

In April 2021, Citi said it would add 2,300 staff to its two Asian wealth hubs – Hong Kong and Singapore – including 1,100 relationship managers and private bankers. In addition to fresh talent, the bank has also managed to upgrade its bankers internally from one segment to the next, alongside the growing wealth of clients. 

«The fact that the full wealth continuum has come together under the [one single] structure has resulted in more referrals from the CPC business to Citi Private Bank as clients grow their assets over time. But this movement is not limited to just clients,» Sambamurthy explained. 

«Our bankers and employees have the opportunity to grow their careers internally, moving from Citigold to CPC, or from CPC to Citi Private Bank.»

Consumer Exit

Also in 2021, Citi announced that it would make a consumer banking exit in 13 markets in APAC, Europe and the Middle East where it lacked the scale to compete. 

«On the consumer exits we made in Asia, a proportion of clients from those markets tended to already bank with us in our two regional wealth hubs. We are also exploring potential wealth management partnerships in these markets,» said Sambamurthy.

«We have a separate unit that is focused on banking the offshore wealth of affluent to high net worth individuals across the region who do not reside in [Hong Kong and Singapore].»

15,000 New Clients

Overall, Citi's wealth management unit – including the private bank – recorded 15,000 new clients in Asia in the first half of 2023. This includes a 36 percent year-on-year increase in client growth in the second quarter.

«We are seeing very positive momentum in client growth [and] we continue to see this momentum,» said Sambamurthy, who is a longtime 35-year Citi veteran.

Editor’s note: At the time this interview was conducted, Shyam Sambamurthy was the international head of Citigold and Citigold Private Client. This month, the bank announced a global reorganization that saw him named to the new role of head of wealth for South Asia.