(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. plans to add talent in Hong Kong as it’s bullish on the city and its links with the surrounding Greater Bay Area in mainland China, according to its wealth chief.
“What you’re going to see is us looking to add talent on a selective basis,” Andy Sieg said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong with Yvonne Man and David Ingles on Monday. “When we see the average banker in this region bringing in the kind of new client volume that they are, that gives us confidence we can add additional individuals in the market.”
The talent will be based in Hong Kong and serving the region more broadly, Sieg said, declining to provide numbers.
Citigroup has been pushing into wealth in the region, vying with rivals including UBS Group AG and HSBC Holdings Plc. The Wall Street bank brought Sieg back from Bank of America Corp. in 2023 to oversee wealth management, a key pillar of Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s turnaround plans.
The bank’s investments business in Hong Kong is up almost 20% year-on-year, according to Sieg, who is making his third trip to the region since taking on the role in September last year. He is also visiting Singapore and Shanghai.
The bank’s wealth strategy is centered in Hong Kong and Singapore, with both having unique roles, according to Sieg.
“We have clients who are focused here and despite the changes in the market, they continue to be focused in Hong Kong,” said Sieg. “We have other clients where they have moved their family offices to Singapore, we provide a little bit of a different spectrum of services.”
He said the bank is “very comfortable” with its footprint and that it’s easy to be based in Hong Kong and serve the region.
‘Made Progress’
The move toward hiring again comes after Citigroup made sweeping global job cuts in a bid to boost the bank’s lagging returns.
Coming into the year, the real focus for the bank was getting fit and more nimble, Sieg said, adding that the bank has executed on Fraser’s strategy.
“We feel we’ve made progress,” he said. “We’re where we want to be in terms of the size, structure of the organization.”
The bank has also exited from consumer banking in various markets including China, India, Thailand and the Philippines.
Sieg said he’s “not concerned” they don’t have a pipeline of clients as while the business is narrower, it’s also “deeper.” The retail bank in Hong Kong in “thriving,” he said.
Citi’s wealth revenues rose 2% in the second quarter to $1.8 billion from a year earlier, driven by an increase in non-interest revenue.
--With assistance from Joanne Wong.
(Adds additional comments from Sieg throughout the story)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
