Mark A. Morgan

In the Middle East Citigroup Private Bank has ramped up its activities considerably over the past 18 months and increased its number of bankers in the region by six-fold. But what makes Citigroup wealth management different to its peers?

'Wealth management for us means dealing with the very top-end of the private banking market,' explains Mark A. Morgan, Managing Director for the Asia Pacific and Middle East. 'We offer a very tailored approach with a banker to client ratio of 1:30 which compares to 1: 300 or 400 for other financial offerings such as priority banking.

Individual approach

'This allows us to take a very individual approach, and aside from our bankers we also have product specialists. The whole approach is customer driven with a focus on listening and not on telling and selling. With such a large staff to client ratio we literally have more time for the client.'

At the same time, the biggest benefit to the client has to be the Citibank network itself. 'We are present in more than 100 countries and have private banking offices in 30,' says Mr. Morgan.

'Our clients are typically very global people with diversified business interests who probably educate their children in the UK, US or Australia. The type of investment we recommend varies enormously according to the client and their circumstances. But we have every facet of financial services covered, from mutual funds to private equity and hedge funds, and offer objective advice on the best-in-class managers.

'For example, many clients in the Middle East took up our Citigroup Venture Capital International Fund for Emerging Markets earlier this year which invests in Greater China, India and Eastern Europe. It is managed by Citigroup's own proprietary management and Citigroup invested $500 million in the fund, so clients were co-investors with the bank.'

Mr. Morgan agrees that around the world there is a flight to established names in the investment community, and a reluctance to trust unknown, if seemingly independent advisors.

'Whenever you are investing your money you want to be sure that it is placed with institutions that are stable and secure in the long-term. At Citigroup everything we do is regulated by the US Federal Reserve, and every product sold in the UAE is also approved by the UAE Central Bank.'

Opening in Kuwait

Citigroup Private Bank is currently on an expansion track in the Middle East and plans to open in Kuwait soon as Citigroup has lately secured a licence to open a branch in the country. It has existing offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, and its regional headquarters in Singapore give the bank a strong Asian focus.

Mr. Morgan declines to pick individual markets as offering better growth prospects as he prefers to offer clients advice tailored to individual circumstances, but Asia is clearly one area that the bank feels comfortable in recommending for diversification.

'Even if the engine of your wealth is in one country in the Middle East it makes sense to use an international bank to access opportunities outside the region, and that is why people come to us,' he says.