Citi’s retail banking services to operate as usual in the meantime

CITI PHILIPPINES will continue to provide retail banking services in the meantime while the details of its parent Citigroup, Inc.’s decision to exit the business in the country are still being ironed out.

“We would like to convey to all credit card, bank account holders and our customers in investments and loans that all our existing products and services will continue normally and there will be no change in our high level of service,” Citi Philippines Consumer Business Head Manoj Varma said in a statement on Monday. 

“All branches, ATMs, call centers and offices, will continue to operate as they do today,” he added.

Mr. Varma said clients can continue to make transactions and inquire about services through the bank’s online platforms.

“This will remain the case until we notify customers of any changes,” he assured.

Citi Philippines was the country’s 12th largest lender in terms of assets in 2020 with P331.32 billion, based on data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. It was ranked 18th based on its capital with P14.74 billion.

Citi’s presence in the Philippines dates back to 1902. It has over 8,000 employees in its corporate and retail banking units and service centers in the country.

The New York-based banking giant last week said it will exit its consumer banking business in 13 Asia-Pacific markets, including the Philippines, and will only retain its retail banking franchises in Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and London.

It is also set to leave consumer banking in other markets such as Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It will however keep its institutional clients group in the affected countries.

“There is no immediate change to our operations, and no immediate impact to our colleagues as a result of this announcement. We will continue to serve our clients with the same dedication and focus on service excellence as we do today,” Citi Philippines Chief Executive Officer Aftab Ahmed said in a statement. — LWTN