Citi Philippines: Consumer banking ops, ATMs, call centers, offices to continue for the meantime

Citi Philippines, the local arm of American banking giant Citigroup, on Tuesday assured its customers that its consumer banking operations in the country will continue for the time being amid its parent’s plan to wind down consumer banking franchises in 13 countries, including the Philippines.

In a statement, Citi Philippines said that its consumer business operations and offices “will continue to operate normally with the same dedication and passion to serve and support clients.”

On Friday, Citigroup announced it will be closing its consumer banking operations in 13 countries, including the Philippines, as it plans to refocus its global operations to areas with the “greatest scale and growth potential.” 

“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,” said Citi Philippines Consumer Business head Manoj Varma.

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

Likewise, Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed said that “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.”

The bank said its operations in the Philippines remains profitable and well capitalized, with capital ratios exceeding required regulatory requirements.

“We have been in the Philippines for over 100 years with dedicated teams and a strong client base who have contributed to our success. We today bank 90% of the top 20 largest market cap firms and over 950 multi-national companies in the Philippines. In the last year we helped raise over $20 billion for our Philippines clients,” Varma said.

Citi has a rich and long history in the Philippines, dating back to 1902 and the bank reaffirmed its commitment to the country.

The bank said the consumer banking exit strategy refresh presents an opportunity to invest further and grow Citi’s Institutional Clients Group franchise in the country which provides clients access to market leading corporate and investment banking, capital markets and advisory, treasury and trade and markets and securities services solutions. — RSJ, GMA News