Citi named Best Bank in Asia anew

MANILA, Philippines - Citi has been named recently the Best Bank in Asia by The Asset Magazine, one of the leading financial publications, at its Triple-A 2013 regional banking awards. It is the 15th consecutive year that Citi cornered the prestigious award.

It likewise received this year the Best Loan House in Asia.

Not to be outdone, Citi’s Philippine operations snarled the Best Bank in the Philippines, its 10th annual title in a row.

Citi’s chief executive officer for Asia Pacific Stephen Bird said that the award was even more significant in a highly competitive market.

“I would also like to thank our clients who place their trust in us to meet their financial needs day in and day out and without whom this award would not be possible,” Bird said as a reaction to receiving the prestigious regional award for the 15th consecutive year.

Citi, with close to 600 branches in the region, operates Asia’s leading retail bank with over 33-million retail accounts.

On the institutional side, the global financial institution raised over $120 billion for Asian clients from international capital markets in 2013 and advised on $60 billion in mergers and acquisition (M&A) activities in the region.

Last year, Asia generated 27 percent of Citi’s net income, making the region the largest for the bank outside of North America with earnings before interest and tax up 13 percent to $5.8 billion, while revenues grew by two percent to  $15 billion.

Not resting on its laurels, Citi continued to invest across the 18 markets it operates in the region, including important progress on the goal to be Asia’s leading digital bank.

It launched credit card contactless payments, and the next generation automated teller machine (ATM) Citibank Express in Asia and the three Citi Wallet in Hong Kong.

The institutions’ renminbi (RMB) capabilities expanded as it became the first bank to launch a RMB cross border auto sweeping structure for a Chinese company.

In December 2013 Citi signed the largest ever bancassurance deal in Asia Pacific with AIA Group Ltd. (AIA). 

Basically, the agreement provides AIA with the right to distribute, on an exclusive basis in all markets, life insurance products other than credit insurance to Citi customers.

The markets included are Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In the Philippines, the Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) is the sole subsidiary of AIA, one of the regions dominant financial and insurance players.

The agreement presents Citi and AIA with the opportunity to offer best-in-class life insurance products in one of the world’s fastest growing wealth management regions, where affluent customers increasingly seek financial protection for their families and assets.

The partnership includes all retail distribution channels, including branches, telemarketing and online channels. The duration of the contract is 15 years.