Citi Singapore to Shut Iconic Branch

As part of its network reconfiguration, Citi is shuttering its iconic branch at McDonald House on 28 February.

For its replacement, the U.S. bank said it will soon launch a whole new and exciting retail banking branch experience after its MacDonald House lease expires at the end of this month. Details on the new branch were not revealed.

Citi consistently reviews its branch network strategy. Clients today increasingly bank on mobile, with almost 100 percent of financial transactions being able to be served through digital platforms. Our retail footprint and the way we serve customers will continue to evolve,» said a Citibank Singapore spokesperson.

MacDonald House, situated across the road from Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, was initially built for a bank. It became gazetted as a national monument in 2003 and has a place in Singapore’s history as the site of a bombing attack in 1965 during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, or the Konfrontasi.

Citi commenced business at the MacDonald House in 2005, taking up 37,000 sq ft of space over four floors. The 14 staff currently at the MacDonald House branch will be redeployed to the bank’s remaining 13 branches in Singapore, the Citi spokesperson added.

The bank’s latest branch network rejig comes as part of the review led by Citibank Singapore’s new chief executive Brendan Carney, who moved to Singapore from South Korea in May last year.

The lender’s move also comes amidst a change in the banking landscape, as 21 consortiums vie for the five digital bank licenses offered by the city-state.