Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) — The Bangko Sentral says that after Citigroup’s announcement of its consumer banking exit in the Philippines, it has moved to “ensure a smooth transition, including putting in place appropriate mechanism to timely respond to any queries and concerns of its depositors and other stakeholders.”
The central bank said on Friday that Citi Philippines clarified to them in a report that there will be no immediate change in its retail banking operations, and that it will be business as usual for their client services “until further notice.”
Citi Philippines CEO and country officer Aftab Ahmed said there will also be no immediate impact on their colleagues as well despite the move.
“All branches, ATMs, call centers and offices, will continue to operate as they do today. Customers can continue to conduct transactions or service inquiries through the Citi Mobile® App, Citibank Online and Citiphone,” said Citi Philippines consumer business head Manoj Varma in a statement emailed to CNN Philippines on Monday, noting this will be the case until clients are notified otherwise.
Citi Philippines likewise said it remains “profitable and well capitalized” in the country, noting its capital ratios exceed regulatory requirements as required.
The New York-based banking giant confirmed the move in a press release on Apr. 15, where it discussed “strategic actions” that will allow it to channel investments and resources to businesses with the greatest scale and growth potential.
Apart from the Philippines, Citigroup will also exit from its consumer franchises in Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
“While the other 13 markets have excellent businesses, we don’t have the scale we need to compete,” said Citi chief executive officer Jane Fraser of the move. “We believe our capital, investment dollars and other resources are better deployed against higher returning opportunities in wealth management and our institutional businesses in Asia.”
Citi’s Institutional Clients Group shall keep serving clients in the said markets, it added.
As part of its revised strategy, Citi will operate solely its consumer banking franchise in Asia and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) from “wealth centers” Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and London as it opts to “double down on wealth,” Fraser further explained.
The banking group announced a net income of $7.9 billion for the first three months of the year, higher than the $2.5 billion it logged during the same period in 2020. However, revenues during the first quarter of 2021 rested at $19.3 billion, down by 7% from the $20.7 billion last year.
This, as “higher revenues in Investment Banking and Equity Markets were more than offset by lower rates, the absence of prior year mark-to-market gains on loan hedges within the Institutional Clients Group (ICG), and lower card volumes in Global Consumer Banking (GCB),” Citi noted.
