Citi bank is a multinational financial services provider and is one of the top 10 financial firms that are considered “too big to fail” by analysts. The financial giant is increasingly looking eastward to the Asia Pacific region for new avenues of growth. The bank has set its eyes on the promising wealth and asset management market in the Asia Pacific region. It aims to boost its wealth management client base in the region by 10% this year in 2019. This will be a jump from its gains last year of 8% in the regional wealth and asset management market.
The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow substantially in the next couple of years and provides a lucrative avenue for growth to financial services organizations such as the Citi group. China is on top of most organizations’ lists as it offers immense opportunities for growth in the asset and wealth management market. China has by far the most number of billionaires and high net worth individuals in the region. Furthermore, anticipated reforms that will free up even pension incomes for investment in passive assets presents another growth opportunity for most financial service organizations. Therefore, Citi bank is also eyeing the Chinese market and expects to grow its client base there by 30% this year.
Anyone with investible assets of $100000 or more is a target customer for the bank, and there are plenty of such individuals spread across Asia in 17 different markets. The Asian market has emerged as the new arena where all the large wealth managers are competing for dominance as the income levels grow, and people have more wealth to invest. Citi bank faces competition from other globally recognized names in the region such as Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, and Credit Suisse.
Despite all the competition, Citi bank’s head of consumer banking seems assured that their investments will allow them to hit the expected double-digit growth figures this year for the Asian region.
The bank has employed highly trained individuals from Ivy League colleges as relationship managers and financial advisors. At the same time, it has also been incorporating the latest technology into its processes to boost growth in its client base. Tools such as digital and “Robo” advisors have been quite useful for the bank to tap into the extremely lucrative Asian markets.
The household incomes in the Asian markets grew the most compared to other regions in the world in 2018. Citibank rightly looks eastward for new opportunities of growth.
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