Top Citigroup executive says Hong Kong is back to normal, as bank opens new wealth management centre in city
- Senior Citi executive says it is ‘business as usual’ in city as lender looks to expand now that pandemic has receded
- Citi opens new global wealth management centre in Hong Kong as it seeks to capture US$150 billion of new client money in Asia by 2025
Citigroup opened its first global wealth management centre in Hong Kong on Tuesday, with a senior executive saying it is “business as usual” in the city as the US lender looks to expand now that the pandemic has receded.
New York-based Anand Selvakesari, CEO of personal banking and wealth management at Citigroup, made the comments as he and other senior executives attended the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority from Tuesday to Thursday, the biggest financial event in the city in three years.
“I’m staying at the Four Seasons Hotel and as I walked in on Sunday I saw that the [adjacent] IFC Mall was very crowded,” Selvakesari told the Post. “People were wearing masks but the restaurants were full and lots of people were shopping.”
He added that it was pretty much “business as usual” in the city and apart from the conspicuous mask-wearing, it was much the same “as being in New York”.
After attending an M+ museum dinner on Tuesday night, Selvakesari will speak at a panel session on Wednesday, replacing the company’s CEO Jane Fraser who was unable to attend after catching Covid.
Selvakesari said the bank had never stopped investing in talent and technology globally amid the pandemic but that investment in physical infrastructure had been a challenge.
