Citibank will close its last “transactional” branch in Singapore, located at the CPF Jurong Building in Jurong East, on Oct 12. The branch’s automated teller machines (ATMs), cash deposit machines and express cheque deposit services will also no longer be available after noon that day.
The decision to close the Jurong East branch, which includes a Citigold Centre, reflects the bank’s strategy to pivot away from its “transactional” branches and towards its three current wealth management centres, says a Citi Singapore spokesperson.
Citi opened its flagship Citi Wealth Hub at 268 Orchard Road in December 2020. Its second centre opened at Parkway Parade in December 2023 and its third opened at One Holland Village in February.
These centres are aimed at serving Citigold clients, who own assets of at least $250,000, and Citigold Private Client customers, who own assets of at least $1.5 million.
While the bank does not disclose its number of retail customers here, Citi Singapore says it has invested in its digital banking infrastructure and “nearly all daily transactions can now be done on the Citi Mobile App”. “We operate a future-ready hybrid service model for wealth management in Singapore, with day-to-day transactions done digitally and at physical locations designed for wealth management conversations.”
See also: Citibank to shut last ‘transactional’ branch in S’pore next month as it eyes wealthy customers
The bank says more than 80% of regular transactions are conducted on its app and website. Only 2% of transactions are done in person at the branch. The decision will not affect Citi’s more than 280 Citibank ATMs and ATM shared networks islandwide.
During this transition, the bank will offer in-person services — such as joint and junior account opening and closure, account closure for the deceased, and client attestation for Lasting Power of Attorney — at its three wealth management centres. However, Citi has not defined the dates of this transition period.
The US bank reiterates that Singapore is one of Citi’s four global wealth hubs, alongside Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and London. “We remain firmly focused on serving the thriving affluent segment here,” says the Citi Singapore spokesperson.
See also: Banks in Singapore can withstand multiple shocks: MAS
While the bank focuses on wealthy customers, Citi Singapore is also a major credit card issuer. About $1 in every $5 of card spend in Singapore is paid with a Citi product, according to the spokesperson.
Shifting out of retail
Back in April 2021, Citi announced its decision to exit the consumer banking business in 13 markets across Asia and Europe. Nine of the markets are in Asia: mainland China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
DBS Group Holdings acquired Citi’s consumer business in Taiwan, while United Overseas Bank U11 (UOB) did the same in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
UnionBank acquired Citi’s consumer business in the Philippines, while HSBC acquired Citi’s retail wealth management portfolio in mainland China. Axis Bank acquired Citi’s consumer business in India.
In 2022, Citi shut down its retail franchise in South Korea after failing to find a buyer.
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Citi Singapore let go of some 500 staff earlier this year as part of a global restructuring, The Straits Times reported in July. The bank has some 8,000 full-time and contract staff in Singapore, added the daily paper.
The bank started the year by announcing that it would eliminate 20,000 roles globally, or 8% of its workforce, by the end of 2026 as part of CEO Jane Fraser’s cost-cutting measures.
That said, Citi Singapore is looking to hire more staff for its growing wealth business as well as commercial bankers to cater to companies expanding in the region, Citi’s Singapore country officer Tibor Pandi told The Straits Times in July.
In February 2023, Citi announced the appointment of Matt Read as Citibank Singapore’s retail banking head, effective April 2023. Read, who joined Citi in 2017 from ANZ, was previously head of wealth sales and distribution for Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
According to Read’s LinkedIn page, he is responsible for “retail banking, including sales, distribution, product and support functions across all retail wealth segments”.
HSBC updates Premier offering
Meanwhile, HSBC announced on Sept 27 the largest update to its Premier and Premier Elite offerings in over two decades. The new perks, which took effect on Oct 1, include an up to 40% discount on health screening packages by Singapore-headquartered telehealth provider Doctor Anywhere.
The changes are targeted at HSBC’s Premier customers, or those with a minimum total relationship balance (TRB) of $200,000 with the bank. They enjoy wealth management solutions, complimentary insurance provided by HSBC Life (Singapore), 24/7 mental health teleconsultations, airport lounge access and concierge services.
Above it is the Premier Elite tier, where customers must maintain a minimum TRB of $1.2 million and qualify as accredited investors.
According to Ashmita Acharya, head of wealth and personal banking, HSBC Singapore, this tier offers bespoke services, such as dedicated relationship managers, personalised and priority banking solutions, exclusive invitations to wealth planning events and a concierge service.
“Premier customers will also enjoy preferential pricing and differentiated tiering in the form of rates and fees compared to our Personal Banking customers across all product lines,” says Acharya, who joined HSBC in January 2023 after more than 20 years at Citi, where she was retail banking head for Singapore.
Personal Banking, the lowest of HSBC’s three tiers, is the “most accessible” tier that caters to “everyday banking needs”, says Acharya. In Singapore, HSBC Personal Banking customers are required to maintain a minimum balance of $2,000 monthly when they open an Everyday Global Account.
Meanwhile, the global Premier account has been around for more than 25 years. The new Premier enhancements in Singapore coincide with its launch in Hong Kong, and HSBC plans to launch these perks in the UK later this month progressively.
Together, Premier customers play an “important role” in building up HSBC’s retail invested assets, which stood at US$412 billion ($530.6 billion) in June. That said, Acharya declined to reveal an exact dollar figure, sticking to HSBC’s earlier announcement by saying they “have a significant impact and play an important role” among the bank’s customers.
Four pillars
According to Acharya, the enhanced Premier proposition spans four pillars: wealth, health, travel and international. “Under the wealth pillar, we launched the Future Planner tool in the HSBC mobile banking app to enable our customers to set, track and customise their financial aspirations — whether it is saving for retirement, funding their child’s education or even purchasing a home.”
HSBC opened the first of three planned wealth centres in June, located on the ground floor of Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 2. The bank said then that it expects to open two more wealth centres — located in the east and the west of Singapore — by 1Q2025.
Compared to HSBC’s existing international wealth hub at Claymore Hill, the new centres will be more modern and better-equipped to encourage engagements, says Acharya.
According to HSBC’s website, the bank has five branches in Singapore, excluding the Claymore branch and its new MBFC Wealth Centre. HSBC claims it is increasing its investment in physical networks fivefold as it pivots its branches into wealth centres.
HSBC reported double-digit growth in client numbers in Singapore for its “mass affluent and high-net-worth segment” from 2019 to 2022, which it claims “continued to grow” in 2023. To sustain this growth momentum, HSBC plans to increase client-facing roles by more than a third by 2028.
In Singapore, HSBC saw a 76% y-o-y increase in new-to-bank international customers in 2023 compared with 2022. The bank attributes this to the launch of new digital onboarding journeys for accounts and investments and an expanded range of wealth solutions.
Still, the CEO of Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets swears by a hybrid “phygital” model for its branches.
Speaking at DBS Group Holdings’ 1HFY2024 media briefing on Aug 7, CEO Piyush Gupta said in response to a question by The Edge Singapore: “We are getting Casa [current accounts and savings accounts] growth everywhere, including Indonesia and India, where we combine digital with physical branches. Customers still like to see branches but then transact on mobile and desktop. We continue to grow Casa, but you do need to be phygital, not purely digital.”
Gupta added: “We got three million customers in India in the first 18 months, but many were not good-quality ones. There were eyeballs, but they could not be monetised. With phygital, we get customers of much better quality.”
From left: DBS's CEO Piyush Gupta, chairman Peter Seah and newly-appointed deputy CEO Tan Su Shan at the bank's 1HFY2024 results briefing on Aug 7
Photos: Citi, HSBC, DBS
