Citi opens more branches in China, Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines - Citibank (Citi) has every reason to remain extremely bullish towards Asia and the Pacific market, what with the 15-percent growth to $100 billion in deposits experienced by its consumer bank in the past 12 months.

In fact, Asia was the largest contributor to Citi’s consumer banking business globally in terms of net income in 2009, and again in the first quarter this year.

Citi regional consumer head Jonathan Larsen stressed that the Asia Pacific region is home to more than half the world’s population and with the growth rates in Asia-Pacific, the rise of the Asian consumer will be the story of the coming decade.

“As such, this region is crucial to not only our Asia-Pacific franchise but also our global franchise. This is why we have invested heavily in the region and see growth opportunities across many markets,” Larsen told FinanceAsia.

Its most recent investments is launching retail bank services in Vietnam in November 2009, and introducing debit cards in China the year before.

Citi has over 700 branches in the region from a mere 100 over a decade ago. Recently, the global financial institution opened dozens in China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

“Our branch expansion is increasingly focused on the urbanization trends we are seeing. For the first time in history more than 50 percent of the earth’s population reside in cities, and by 2050 it is expected be around 75 percent. You will see Citibank continuing to open new branches in the major metropolis areas in Asia,” the regional consumer head pointed out.

Larsen told FinanceAsia that its not just about opening branches in the region.

Citi’s branches must innovate to offer speed, flexibility and convenience for the demanding Asian bank client.

“In Japan, our hi-tech new branches are more akin to something out of a Hollywood movie with touch screens and interactive communications with remote branch managers on screen,” he added.

Asia is also setting the benchmark for innovation as these types of branches will be rolled out further across the world in the coming years.

But Larsen said that Citi knows that a large number of its regional clients still prefer the personal touch. “We focus quite a lot of our efforts on the quality of the branch staff and the customer service we provide.”

The Citi regional executive also called attention to the changing habits of the banking public.

“Our customers want increased flexibility and mobility, they want to be able to bank on-line, or on the way to work and with greater immediacy if they need to visit a branch,” he pointed out.

Citi has since opened branches in subway stations in Hong Kong and Singapore in the last year. There are estimated one million people passing the two major stations.

Larsen intimated that Citi launched mobile banking in several markets in Asia in the past year, including in China and Singapore, and upgraded our Internet capabilities. It is now possible to pay bills, move money overseas, buy stocks or carry out banking services on the iPhone via a Citi platform.

“This investment in technology and branches is bearing results,” he admitted.

The aggressive nature of Citi has also brought it out of the branches and into the workplace.

Corporate clients for example employ 20,000 or so employees, and it becomes convenient for the corporate client to have only one financial institution in both business and employee matters.

In some companies in India and Singapore, Citi opened branches on their premises. Multinational companies in Asia too are increasingly interested in having Citi branches on their sites.

“We have become their consumer bank of choice, thanks to working closely with our global transaction services or global subsidiaries businesses,” he added.