Citi to open its largest wealth advisory hub in Orchard Road

Citi will open its largest wealth advisory hub in Orchard Road in December as it targets an increase in its market share of catering to the well-heeled.

The Citi Wealth Hub at 268 Orchard will occupy an area of 30,000 sq ft across four floors at the same address in the shopping district.

It will house more than 30 client advisory rooms and cater to Citigold and Citigold Private Client customers, said the bank yesterday. Citigold is the bank's wealth management service for customers with at least $250,000 in investible assets.

The Straits Times understands that the investment in the hub is in the "double-digit millions".

About 300 relationship managers, advisers, specialists and staff will move from the bank's existing branches to the wealth hub when it opens.

The bank has 12 branches in Singapore, down from 14 at the start of the year.

It added that the hub will allow Citibank Singapore to have deeper conversations about wealth with customers, while serving their simple transaction needs digitally. Clients can meet their relationship managers and have access to a team of specialists at a central location.

Mr Brendan Carney, chief executive of Citibank Singapore and head of consumer banking for Citi in Asean, said: "We see a great opportunity for us to serve the growing affluent segment in Singapore, and believe in the need to continue enhancing our client value proposition by investing in this new wealth hub. As we continue to grow our business, we will look to open more of such hubs in the future."

The bank said it aims to achieve double-digit growth in market share and number of clients in the wealth segment in the next few years.

The hub will have a biophilic design and will target to be certified as a green building. Biophilic design is based on the idea that humans have an inherent need to connect with nature, even in modern settings.

HSBC in March launched a new global business which combines retail banking, wealth management and global private banking.

As for local banks, United Overseas Bank last year launched its first high street wealth banking branch model at Faber House in Orchard Road to complement its online channels in a bid to better equip "emerging affluent" customers with investment knowledge.

DBS Wealth comprises three client segments - Treasures, Treasures Private Client and Private Bank - for customers with minimum investible assets ranging from $350,000 to $5 million.

OCBC Premier Banking and Premier Private Client offer customers access to 13 premier banking centres here.