Global bank Citi Australia will hire 100 new relationship managers over the next three years for its wealth management business and roll out a number of technological solutions and offerings to boost clients’ banking experience.
The bank plans to triple its number of high-net-worth (HNW) clients and will focus on meeting the needs of this “growing” demographic of investors with over $1 million to invest, according to a statement.
Australia is home to the third-largest pool of HNW people in the region, head of Asia-Pacific retail banking Gonzalo Luchetti said.
“With nearly 70 per cent of high-net-worth individuals in APAC holding investments outside their home country, there is opportunity for Citi Australia to leverage its global brand awareness in the region and capture a larger share of this group,” he said.
Mr Luchetti said this expansion was not something new for the Australian branch.
“We have some of the best structured investment offerings in the country, and have been building wealth management relationships with clients for decades,” he said.
“But we want to expand our operation in Australia, offer a more holistic wealth management solution and drive growth through our relationship managers, who are recognised by our clients as industry leading.”
The bank will also invest further in its digital customer service experience with the launch of new tools that will “provide a holistic view” of clients’ portfolios, as well as video banking that will enable clients to communicate with their relationship managers through chat, audio or video calls from Citi’s mobile app.
For clients investing and transacting in various currencies, Citi Australia will also introduce digital currency accounts.
Citi Australia managing director and head of retail banking Janine Copelin said the bank’s “global expertise” made it “well placed to capture a greater share of the high-net-worth market”.
Citi Australia saw a 30 per cent growth in net new money for investments in 2016, as well as a 14 per cent increase in assets under management year-on-year.
