Citibank Singapore closing MacDonald House branch as it plans new retail concept

Singapore

CITIBANK Singapore will shut its 15-year old MacDonald House branch on Feb 28, with plans to open a new retail banking branch as part of its network rejig.

Confirming the plans to The Business Times (BT), the US bank said it will soon launch "a whole new and exciting retail banking branch experience" after its MacDonald House lease expires at the end of this month. Details on the new branch have yet to be finalised.

In response to queries from BT, Citi said customers are also increasingly going digital, with the trend driving its retail network strategy.

"Citi consistently reviews its branch network strategy. Clients today increasingly bank on mobile, with almost 100 per cent of financial transactions being able to be served through digital platforms. Our retail footprint and the way we serve customers will continue to evolve as we seek to remain relevant with our clients' needs," a Citibank Singapore spokesperson told BT.

Located across the road from Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, MacDonald House - initially built for a bank - was gazetted as a national monument in 2003. It has a place in Singapore's history as the site of a bombing attack in 1965 during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, or the Konfrontasi.

Citi opened its doors at the MacDonald House in 2005, occupying 37,000 sq ft of space spread over four floors. There are currently 14 staff at the MacDonald House branch, who will be redeployed to the bank's remaining 13 branches in Singapore, the Citi spokesperson said.

The bank's latest branch network rejig comes under the strategy led by new Citibank Singapore chief executive Brendan Carney, who moved to Singapore in May last year. Mr Carney was previously the consumer business manager for Citi's South Korea office.

Citi's latest move also comes amid retail digital banks looking to set up shop here, with an eye on selling wealth products.

Ride-hailing giant Grab on Tuesday said it has acquired Bento Invest, a Singapore-based robo-advisory startup, to offer retail wealth management and investment solutions to Grab users, drivers and merchants.

Grab, via a 60:40 partnership with Singtel, is in the race for a digital full bank licence in Singapore.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is offering up to five digital banking licences - two for full banks and three for wholesale - with results for the applications due mid-2020.