Citi Targets Doubling of Singapore WM Market Share

From its current 5 percent, Citibank Singapore plans to double its wealth management market share alongside the number of clients by 2025.

The bank’s Singapore chief executive Brendan Carney believed that the retail and wealth management business could further accelerate growth after assets grew 11 percent in 2019, including 19 percent client asset growth from its wealth management segment.

We think there’s another gear that we can shift into and go from double-digit growth to really strong double-digit growth, Carney said.

As part of the growth plans, the bank made investments in the tens of millions in a new flagship wealth management center based in one of Singapore’s major shopping and luxury areas, Orchard Road. The 30,000 square foot wealth management center will occupy four storeys including two floors for 400 relationship managers and specialists as well as two floors for client meetings and events.

Though the bank hopes to add at least one more flagship center, its broader plan in the city-state is to reduce its branch presence. By the end of 2020, it targets three from 14 branches to 11 – one wealth management center, seven branches and three instant banking centers for basic transactional services.

Still, Carney noted that Citi is not a digital-only bank and has not aspirations to become one. In fact, Citi will look to grow its client-facing staff by 20-25 percent over the next three to five years and also boost training for its existing relationship managers.