The gold standard in privileges & rewards
MANILA, Philippines - Citibank vice president and Citigold branch head Jacqueline Wieneke was a personal banker for five years before she moved to Citigold as a relationship manager (RM), which she also did for five years.
Her 17-year career path at Citibank reflects some of Citigold clients’ investment growth — moving from Citibanking (people with investments of below P4 million) to Citigold (with investments starting at P4 million) — so Jacqui actually guided clients that started out with only time deposits and then they created portfolios to becoming seasoned and active investors. If there is anybody who knows about how people vacillate between wanting to earn more and being conservative, it is Jacqui, what with her wealth of experiences in dealing with clients and managing their wealth through good years and bad.
“It’s good to start as a personal banker,” she says. “If your client has, say, P2 million, it’s a great starting point to know about investments. They’re first-time investors and oftentimes what they know are only the basic products of a bank. Not too many are really aware of the investment opportunities there are. I have had clients who moved with me to Citigold because they have also grown. To me, it’s knowing the customer that’s really the starting point of a Citigold relationship.”
Of all the Citigold privileges and perks that clients enjoy, it is probably the personalized and individualized relationship they get with the bank that’s they value the most. This relationship is not just bank to client, but oftentimes becomes a friendship.
Jacqui says Citigold Wealth Management is basically relationship building. “That is one of our most distinct differences. It’s more personalized and individualized rather than an off-the-shelf type of product offering. It’s really catered to the individual. It starts off with a personal discussion on the client’s objectives and his needs. How long the client wants to stay invested and his investment experiences.”
They call it the “team approach” at Citi. “When a client opens an account, he is immediately introduced to a team of experts. The relationship manager, the Citigold associate, the investment consultant to share about investment opportunities, and the branch manager. That’s at least four points of contact. Then they have the 24-hour Citigold hotline 24/7.”
A majority of RMs were personal bankers and Citibank associates in the beginning and at Citigold they become the point person for the client, looking after their investments and banking requirements such as their credit cards and loans. An RM has an average of 250 clients at a time.
“Some clients need more hand-holding, some don’t,” says Jacqui of the number of times they consult with their RMs. “With high-net worth individuals (those with portfolios of P50 million and up) who are very active in their investments, the meetings can be every week or every other week.”
Jacqui describes the first step of a Citigold relationship as profiling the client. They fill out a personal investment profiling form which, aside from being a compliance tool because the bank is required to know its customers, “is also for the client to understand his or her profile. Rather than us using it because it’s a legal requirement, it is a point of discussion because often clients may look at it at product level whereas they should look at it and understand their own objectives, say, five years from now. And from there we are able to come up with a range of products and services that they can choose from.”
Is it really important to clients the kind of relationship they have with their bank? “Yes it is,” says Jacqui. “They look for that. That’s the advantage of a Citigold relationship — it’s not us pushing products but understanding their needs.”
Take, for example, the global financial crisis. Clients wanted to know how the things happening in economies outside the country would affect their investments. The year 2008 was a very busy one for RMs, says Jacqui. “Towards the end of 2008 up to the first half of 2009, our RMs had very close contact with their clients. During that time, they were practically calling clients every day, from morning to evening. That was key in making them feel very secure. Our clients stayed with us, and they understood what was happening globally. There was a lot of movement in that they were looking at the types of investment instruments. It was very natural for them to not want to tie up their money in long-term investments and to be cautious. The stock market was very volatile and naturally they waited and stayed in short-term investments to make it easier for them to react, or if there was a dip in the market it was easier for them to come in. A lot of them were also on the lookout for opportunities during those turbulent times. The market was bearish and people were staying in the sidelines, but even then there were opportunities. How do you get that message across? Aside from RMs calling them for individual discussion, we found that it was very effective to gather them to listen to experts about investments and markets.”
During regular briefings and market outlook events, Citigold shares the latest market movements in and outside the country. These talks are given by highly respected specialists around the world. They range from intimate gatherings of 10 to 20 people, to in-branch briefings, to as big as the last Chinese New Year event at the NBC Tent where hundreds of select Citigold clients were invited.
“Internally, we used to call the in-branch events as ‘coffee clubs’ although they really are investment briefings. We noticed that in these smaller and intimate gatherings people are more encouraged to talk and ask questions. They’re not as shy as during the big events where not too many people ask questions. The branch is a very good venue because some clients bring their friends with them so they can be briefed and are encouraged to become Citigold clients as well.”
Citigold also sends out research materials either via e-mail or hard copies in the branches to help clients gather more information to make informed decisions and for the team to know the information relevant to the clients.
Do people actually read these? Jacqui laughs and says, “They do, and if they don’t, we give them a call to talk about it.”
Another perk they enjoy at Citigold is preferential pricing on fees when booking investments and better rates for foreign currency. “When a client puts in at least P4 million with us, we also want to give them preferential treatment. When they convert dollar to peso or dollar to euro, they get a much more attractive rate and that’s significant especially if it’s a sizable amount. We automatically give this, they don’t have to ask for it. For investment, they get discounts on service fees and in others a waiver of fees, so they really get value for their money.”
The question, of course, is, are these things still important since Citigold clients are already rich anyway? “Oh yes, they’re very important,” says Jacqui. “Little things and little touches matter.”
An example of that Citigold touch is that each client gets a complimentary copy of Town & Country magazine and a gift on his birthday. Last year they gave out Twinings tea boxes. Jacqui even had one client who came into the branch and said she looked forward to her copy of the magazine every month.
Citigold clients also enjoy exclusive invitations to lifestyle events. Some past events were held in partnership with Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Salvatore Ferragamo, which held previews for Citigold before opening the new collections to the public so they didn’t have to wait in line or have the store run out of the new products. One big event Citigold clients can look forward to in July is the Cats musical, which will be staged in the Philippines for the first time.
Citigold clients are automatically issued a Platinum credit card (the annual fee is waived for as long as they are a Citigold client). The card comes with its own privileges and rewards such as access to exclusive events, big discounts in restaurants and hotels, and access to the Delta lounge at NAIA. Another privilege is being able to make banking transactions at the Citigold Lounge, like if you need to exchange currency, and use of the meeting rooms.
“We also host some Citigold clients from abroad. Not too often, but they do come here. They just show their Citigold ATM card. Whether or not you will make use of it, it’s nice to know that you can when you want to.”
Jacqui continues, “The client is not treated just as a customer; he’s treated as a friend. We have his best interest at heart. We take time to know each one so we can narrow down the wide range of products and services to what is really beneficial and meaningful to him.”
One proof of the trust and friendship with which Citigold clients in turn regard their relationship managers is that they ask them about matters outside of Citi. “To me it’s such a compliment when clients come us and say, ‘What do you think I should do with my investment in other banks?’” says Jacqui. “We give them an objective point of view and allow them to make their own decisions. The fact that they consult us on their decisions outside of Citi is, I think, a very big compliment to the type of service and information we can give them.”
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The Citigold Wealth Management hotline for Citibank, N.A., is 995-9888 for Metro Manila and 234-9888 for Metro Cebu. Citigold Wealth Management hotline for Citibank Savings is 995-1888 for Metro Manila or 1-800-10995-1888 (toll free outside Metro Manila through PLDT.
