Citibank earmarks $15 million for infrastructure upgrade

Citibank recently announced to invest $15 million for the improvement of its banking infrastructure, products, and services in the Philippines.

Citibank country business manager for global consumer group Mark Jones said that the bank’s operations in the country is far from joining the wave of retrenchments done by other Citi subsidiaries.

"Our headcount [in the Philippines] is growing, but there are areas that we are becoming more efficient," Jones said in his recent visit to Cebu.

Jones said Citi is focusing on sustaining its growth in the Philippines backed by its good performance last year.

He added that since Citibank’s core business is in the Philippines, which is banking and other financing activities, it is not as affected by the crisis as those operating in other countries.

The bank, which has been serving the affluent market segment, is more likely to generate growth in the Philippines this year with more products and services being improved. Last year, the bank introduced 30 new investment products in the country.

"We will continue to invest in [banking] infrastructure, products and services, making it easy for consumers to transact," he said adding that new deposit products to stimulate excitement in the market will be introduced this year.

The US$15 million investments that is allocated for the entire Philippine operation, is seen to revolutionize the offering of products and services in the country's banking industry "bringing the best of the world to the Philippines."

The bank will put its investments in strengthening its competitive edge in mobile banking, upgrade phone system (voice response system for clients, credit card constant rewards, among others.

Of the total 4,000 employees in the Philippines, Jones said the company has no plans of cutting off jobs, in fact, it is seen to hire as expansion plans for additional banking outlets is now in the pipeline.

In 2008, this foreign bank grew by 20 percent in its credit card business. This year, the bank is looking at winning more credit card consumers in the Philippines, as services and offerings will be enhanced.

To date, Citibank has a total of 1.2 million credit card holders in the country. It aims to grow by 20 percent this year, Jones said. For its thrift bank arm, CitiSavings, it plans to expand its network coverage, specifically in the providing easy access to ATM (Automated Teller Machine), and loan centers.

The top executives of Citibank led by Jones were in Cebu recently to meet with its clients and employees here.