Published on: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 |
Kuala Lumpur: Citibank Bhd is confident of recording double-digit growth in its wealth management service despite a tough economic condition.
Its head of segment and marketing, retail bank, Timothy Johnson, said the bank was optimistic of achieving the target with the launch of its Citigold Global Banking service for clients with cross-border needs here Tuesday.
"The service is expected to see a double-digit growth in customer base in the next 12 months and we expect to beat the industy's expected growth rate of seven percent this year," he told a media briefing.
He said the bank has served over 30,000 clients in Malaysia since the introduction of the service in the country in 1985.
Meanwhile, its country business head for consumer banking, Michellina Triwardhany, said Malaysian clients were now more affluent.
"I think the creation of wealth is an on-going process. What we see in the last five years from 2001-2005 was double-digit growth throughout Asia, including Malaysia, in terms of the creation of wealth.
"The current financial situation is part of the normal economic cycle and we expect the wealth preservation as well as wealth creation to become a very key component for our Malaysian and general customers," she said.
She said the Citigold Global Banking service would now be available in 31 countries.
"We started with 16 countries and now we have 31. We will have more than 43 countries by the first quarter of 2009," she said.
The new service is targeted at customers who frequently travel internationally either for business or pleasure; those who live and work in other countries; people who have offshore products and service needs; and, those who have financial interests/business in multiple countries/curriencies.
Among the benefits are easy access to open a bank account; immediate access to a credit card upon arrival across 42 countries globally; emergency cash withdrawal; and, preferential foreign exchange rate. - Bernama
