Citigroup eyes 200 new branches

Citigroup is poised to open 200 more branches in the Asia Pacific region, according to a financial publication. Already it got the green light from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to acquire the Insular Savings Bank, which the market expects to result in a thrift bank exclusively run by the Citigroup in the Philippines.

The Asian Banker, a regional financial publication, said Citigroup’s global consumer group chairman and chief executive officer Marge Magner was in Singapore recently categorically declaring that "the bank plans to open 200 more branches in the region." The consumer group generates more than 50 percent of the group’s total profits, a good percentage of which comes from the Asia Pacific region. In Singapore alone, the bank has an almost $1-billion incorporated entity and runs a substantial global payments processing business. Magner was in Singapore to open two new branches and three off-site ATMs.

The regional target is in addition to any new branches acquired through merger, such as with Korea’s Koram Bank which yielded 235 new branches for the group in Asia. The new organically grown branch network will mostly be in India, where the bank has been building a sizeable consumer finance business. The bank also plans to add three new cities to its distribution base in India.

Other countries where the bank is looking to build consumer credit as the driver for growth are in Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, Korea and Thailand.

Magner said that she has been to China only recently, but that she plans more frequent visits. The bank has a credit card joint venture with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and industry sources indicate that it is likely to raise its stake again in the Chinese entity soon.

On the topic of integrity issues faced by Citigroup in its other lines of business, Magner essentially repeated the party line that "we want to be the most respected bank in the world." – TPT