Saudi prince urges Citibank to lend more

The biggest individual investor of Citi-bank, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud has asked the largest foreign bank in the Philippines to play a major role in the economic development of the country by lending more.

"He (the prince) was saying Citibank should support business activities and have a more active role in the country’s economic activities. In a way, we can draw the conclusion that he wants more lending done," Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila said in an interview.

Increasing the lending activity of financial institutions has been a challenge after the 1997 Asian financial crisis with banks preferring to place their money on more secure investments like government securities.

Recent data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that bank lending grew 9.4 percent in January this year, slightly lower than the previous month’s growth of 11 percent.

The prince, who was ranked as the world’s eighth richest man by Forbes magazine, was briefed by Citibank country officer Sanjiv Vohra on the current financial and economic situation of the country. Favila said the prince liked what he heard and encouraged Citibank to lend more.

"The prince told Sanjiv he would like to see a bigger participation of Citibank in economic activities in the Philippines," Favila said, quoting the Saudi billionaire.

"The business should be able to expand because there is much liquidity," Favila added. He likewise noted that the prince inquired how many offices the bank has in the country.

Citibank has six offices including a call center in Eastwood City Libis and 36 Citi-State Savings Bank branches.

Upon hearing this, Favila said Vohra was told to increase the activities of Citi-bank in the country but the secretary was unsure if it meant building another BPO center.

The prince is the largest individual shareholder in Citigroup with a 4.43 percent stake, second overall behind Barclays Global Investors, which has 4.56 percent.

Citibank is the largest foreign commercial bank in the Philippines in terms of customers, assets, revenues, employees and number of domestic branches. It consistently ranks among the top 10 commercial banks in the country.