Wealth management made simple with Citigold

In uncertain financial times, how does one of the world’s leading banking institutions retain its strong commitment to growth and — even more importantly — growing its clients’ wealth?

In the case of Citibank, it’s all down to the words of Henry David Thoreau: “Simplify, simplify.”

Once upon a time, people had one or two options for saving their hard-earned money: they could stick it in a convenient place, like a mattress, or they could place it in a bank, where it earned a bit of interest. Then things got more complicated, with a flurry of investment products on the market. Citibank is here to assure us that it doesn’t have to be so boggling.

“It’s about simplifying things for the customer,” explains Jacqui Wieneke, vice president and branch manager for Citigold Global Consumer Group. “Before, we had 30 to 50 savings and checking account products. We’ve now simplified it to six or seven products.”

With Citi Everyday Banking, depositors with an average daily balance of P50,000 can get unlimited withdrawals as well as a competitive interest rate.

Those who want a transactional account with a better savings component can explore Citi Bonus Saver, which, starting with P100,000, encourages depositors to grow their savings by offering a “bonus” interest rate on a monthly basis. The Citi High Rate Saver account is for bigger volume savers, offering competitive interest rates for deposits from P100,000 up to P10 million.

Another flexible product is Citi e-Savings, which offers a three-percent interest rate and easy access to funds online or through Citiphone and ATMs. “This is more for the technology-savvy client who also has the objective of saving,” notes Wieneke. “It’s for clients who are more independent, and the interest rate is very high, like a time deposit, but they still have access to the funds.”

Citi Saver is set up to help clients grow their foreign currency accounts, with minimum deposits of 1,000 dollars or euros offering a competitive interest rate while still allowing flexibility to withdraw funds. And of course, Citibank offers time deposits for the more long-term investors in euro, dollar and peso currencies.

“One thing about Citibank, it’s really not an off-the-shelf type of product offering,” says Wieneke. Citibank prides itself on initiating a financial “conversation” with all of its clients, whether they’re depositors at the P100,000 end or Citigold Wealth Management clients who make an initial deposit of P4 million.

Visiting Citibank’s plush Citigold Lounge in Makati City, the first thing you notice is that it’s not like a regular bank: instead of cold, marble floors, there are warm Asian interiors — Filipino art and ceramics decorating the walls, feng shui touches like mini-waterfalls, and a quiet, carpeted reception area. There are private rooms behind glass partitions where clients can sit and meet with tellers; those requiring more privacy can sit down with a “personal banker” in one of eight comfy conference rooms to discuss their financial horizons.

But while this “gold standard” service is available to customers with an initial deposit of P4 million, Citibank wants it known that similar financial attention is there for depositors starting at a more modest level.

“It’s all about having a conversation with each client,” Wieneke adds. After all, she says, “The P100,000 customer may one day become a P1 million customer.”

She explains how the initial discussion focuses on a customer’s time horizon (how long they want to invest), investment experience, risk tolerance and capacity for earning; then a Citibank “personal banker” can help tailor each product to specific needs.

“It’s very individualized, not a ‘one solution fits all’ type of conversation,” continues Wieneke. “For instance, a lot of customers not used to allocating their funds, they do 30-day rollovers each time, and before you know it, they’ve done this for three years, and they’re not maximizing their return. So we help them realize, ‘Okay, maybe I have my transactional account, which I can allocate X amount to; then I can have Y percent of my portfolio for the medium-term. Then you help them determine major goals, like buying a home or a child’s education, which they can put into the long-term.

“For example, you could put 50 percent in a long-term time deposit, say five years, and do a 30-day for transactional needs, and put some into checking and savings for more liquid needs.”

“It’s about going back to basics,” explains Citigold Wealth Management director Judith Go. “It’s really going back to telling customers that saving is something they should consider at this time; it’s the first step to building your wealth, and making money work for you.”

With Citigold, Go notes that customers appreciate the focused level of discussion.

“Oftentimes banks will try to shove something down the throat of a client, because they need to make a sale. I think what we’re proud of at Citigold is being able to carve a conversation around the needs of a client. So the first step is knowing more about him or her: who she is, what she does, what her expenses are, her sources of income — everything, down to the last detail. And that really takes a lot of openness and frankness on the part of the client.”

Unlike some financial institutions that might overwhelm customers with too much information, Citibank firmly believes that — especially now — information is power.

“The process of getting information actually drives the customer to really sit down and think of goals,” points out Wieneke. “They don’t always tend to think very much in the long term. They just think tuition, or retirement. But these kinds of conversations with clients show us, all the more, how we have to educate people to save when they’re young.”

In today’s uncertain financial environment, Citibank offers something that only a handful of institutions can claim: over 100 years of service built on trust and performance. And that trust, Go explains, is built on relationships with clients. “One thing is, Citigold deals with relationship management. So the kind of trust and the kind of relationship management we have with our clients makes them more open towards having those concerns addressed by us.” When discussing the financial horizon, she says, “We definitely focus on the talking points of how financially stable Citi is, we talk about the strength of Citi and how well capitalized it is. The most surprising thing is the clients who actually get so assured by what we’re trying to say, and this hinges on the strength of the relationship we have had with those clients over the time we’ve known them.”

While Citibank tries to make banking easier, it also strives to spot trends and develop products to meet local needs. One example is that Citibank pioneered SMS banking here — the first place in Asia to offer clients access to their credit card balances via text. Then there’s Citi Alerts, which sends enrolled customers text messages alerting them to maturities of time deposits, big checks being encashed, or large transaction activity on their accounts. “That was introduced first in the Philippines, taking advantage of the texting culture here,” notes Wieneke.

Citi has also identified three client segments on the rise, and Citigold has developed special services for their needs. First, there’s a growing expatriate segment, people who need to hit the ground running, financially, as soon as they arrive. “So taking care of their pressing needs — setting up a bank account or having a credit card ready upon your arrival — is something we’d like to be sure the client gets access to,” notes Go. “It takes some of the more pressing problems off of their minds.”

The second type of client wants to expand his or her information in order to invest outside the local market. “This is where Citigold excels,” says Go, “because we do focus a lot of information and research on foreign markets. Citi is very global, spends a lot on research, and believes if clients are well informed, they will make better decisions on what to do with their money.”

The third group consists of frequent travelers, both for business and pleasure, who receive a wide range of customer care abroad through Citigold. “There will be times when they need cash, or lose their travel documents in a foreign country. We’ve actually addressed that need by giving them access to Citigold Wealth Management Centers and Lounge Areas abroad (there are now 230 Citigold centers in 12 Asia-Pacific countries); second, whenever you need cash, we make available a $10,000 emergency cash option; and third, when you travel, the international ATM card gives you easy access to the currency of whatever country you are in; it’s debited to your account here,” explains Go. “My customers say it’s very convenient and accessible and it helps them take care of what they need in a foreign country.”

So whether you’re living abroad, traveling abroad or thinking of investing abroad, “Once you’re a Citigold customer here, you’re a Citigold customer across the globe,” says Wieneke. To underscore that message, until March 31, Citigold depositors of P4 million and up are being offered a complimentary Samsonite Stratolite wheeled duffel bag to make traveling even more effortless. “It’s basically a way of letting clients know that we do have this global service available to make things simpler for them.”

One more thing that makes banking with Citibank simplicity itself.