Citibank Korea launches wealth management service for millionaires

Published : Sept 3, 2012 - 19:31 Updated : Sept 3, 2012 - 19:31

Senior officials from Citibank Korea and Citi Global attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the Citigold Private Client Center in Gangnam Finance Center in southern Seoul on Aug. 17. They included Citibank Korea CEO Ha Yung-ku (eighth from left), Citi Global retail banking head Jonathan Larsen (seventh from left) and Asia-Pacific consumer bank wealth management head Paul Hodes (second from left). (Citibank Korea)

Citibank Korea opened its first private wealth management service center in Seoul last month.

Citigold Private Client Center, opened in Gangnam Finance Center in southern Seoul on Aug. 17, targets top-tier clients of the bank who have a minimum total balance of 1 billion won ($882,000), half of which is in investment assets.

The new center is part of the bank’s move to separate clients who require professional investment advice to provide unique, differentiated products and research backed by top-class private bankers. More of such service centers will soon open in other branches as well.

“Clients at Citigold Private Clients will receive personalized wealth management service from the most experienced and capable private bankers selected through a strict evaluation process,” said Citibank Korea in a statement.

At the private center, a dedicated team of experts including portfolio counselors, insurance counselors, investment product specialists, research specialists, and tax, legal and real estate specialists supports private bankers to give holistic financial service and meet the client’s sophisticated needs.

As well as investment opportunities including tailored products and bonds, FX Forward is exclusively offered to Citigold private clients to manage risks associated with foreign currency when investing in assets overseas. Clients are also provided with exclusive research produced by Citi’s global research department, armed with 446 analysts from 70 countries.

As children’s education is one of the key interests of high-net-worth individual clients, the private center also suggests training courses for scions and legacy planning advice.

“Citibank first introduced its wealth management service in Korea with ‘Citigold’ brand to customers with 100 million won back in 1991. Since then, 21 years have passed and the HNWI market has grown significantly. Going through the financial crisis, HNWIs have developed a need for the sophisticated financial service,” said Ha Yung-Ku, CEO of Citibank Korea.

By Park Min-young (claire@heraldcorp.com)