Citi will open its largest wealth advisory hub at 268 Orchard Road in December as it targets an increase in its market share of catering to the well-heeled.
The Citi Wealth Hub at 268 Orchard will occupy an area of 30,000 sq ft across four floors.
The 268 Orchard site is where the former Yen San Building stood - and coincidentally, Citibank previously had a branch there.
The wealth hub will house more than 30 client advisory rooms and cater to Citigold and Citigold Private Client customers, said the bank yesterday.
Citigold is the bank's wealth management service for customers with at least $250,000 in investible assets.
The Straits Times understands that the investment in the hub is in the "double-digit millions".
About 300 relationship managers, advisers, specialists and staff will move from the bank's existing branches to the hub when it opens.
The bank has 12 branch locations in Singapore, down from 14 at the start of the year. It said that close to 90 per cent of its retail banking customers use digital platforms for their daily banking needs, and less than 1 per cent of transactions take place in Citi branches.
It added that the hub will allow Citibank Singapore to have deeper conversations about wealth with customers while serving their simple transaction needs digitally. Clients can meet their relationship managers and have access to a team of specialists at a central location.
The hub will also have facilities to host investment seminars and events for clients.
Mr Brendan Carney, chief executive of Citibank Singapore and head of consumer banking for Citi in Asean, said: "We see a great opportunity for us to serve the growing affluent segment in Singapore... As we continue to grow our business, we will look to open more of such hubs in the future."
The bank said it aims to achieve double-digit growth in market share and number of clients in the wealth segment in the next few years.
The hub will have a biophilic design and will aim to be green-certified. Biophilic design is based on the idea that humans have an inherent need to connect with nature, even in modern settings.
Client meeting rooms will be named after national flowers and trees found in places where Citi has a presence, with some rooms transformed into "garden pods".
An antimicrobial coating will be applied on all high-touch surfaces, and safe distancing of at least 2m will be enforced. All rooms will be disinfected after each use, and plexi-guard shields will be installed as a precaution against the transmission of the coronavirus.
The United States bank is among several players in the wealth management scene here. HSBC in March launched a new global business - wealth and personal banking - that combines retail banking, wealth management and global private banking. It is in the midst of recruitment for wealth teams in Singapore, China and Hong Kong.
As for local banks, United Overseas Bank last year launched its first high-street wealth banking branch at Faber House in Orchard Road to complement its online channels in a bid to better equip "emerging affluent" customers with investment knowledge. It defines this group as those aged between 25 and 44, with between $100,000 and $350,000 in investible assets.
DBS Wealth Management comprises three client segments - Treasures, Treasures Private Client and Private Bank - for customers with investible assets ranging from $350,000 to $5 million.
OCBC Premier Banking and Premier Private Client offer customers access to 13 premier banking centres here, and investment advisory services from the OCBC Wealth Panel, which has experts from across the group's units.
This article has been edited for clarity.
