Citigroup adds thousands of Asia wealth clients in global push

CITIGROUP added more than 15,000 wealth clients in the Asia Pacific region as the US bank extends it push into money management and business that shows signs of recovery. 

The customers were taken on during the first half of the year, according to a spokeswoman for the New York-based firm. In the second quarter, new clients grew 36 per cent from the prior year and Asia Pacific wealth revenues ticked up 4 per cent from the previous quarter, she said. 

Citigroup is jostling with rivals UBS Group, HSBC Holdings and JPMorgan Chase for a larger slice of wealth revenues in Asia Pacific. The region is home to about US$55 trillion in financial wealth, second only to North America, according to a Boston Consulting Group report. 

Citigroup merged its consumer wealth and private banking units in 2021 and chief executive officer Jane Fraser has been doubling down on wealth after exiting retail franchises in some markets.

The Wall Street firm is bringing back Andy Sieg from Bank of America to run its global wealth division, and last year hired a team from Credit Suisse Group in Hong Kong as part of its Asia buildout in its Hong Kong and Singapore hubs. BLOOMBERG