Citibank Singapore
Citibank Singapore Limited is a division of Citibank N.A. of the United States and incorporated in Singapore on 28 June 2004. Its parent was awarded Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) status on 20 October 1999, and this status was transferred to the Singapore division on the day of its incorporation. The bank has a shared automated teller machine (ATM) network with HSBC, State Bank of India, Maybank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of China, and Standard Chartered called atm5.
The bank's headquarters are located at Asia Square. The main branch is at Capital Square at 23 Church Street. With the QFB status, the bank was entitled to open up to 25 branches, with up to ten from 1 January 2005. Back-end operations are concentrated in Changi Business Park.
History
Citibank established operations in Singapore on 1 July 1902. It was then known as the International Banking Corporation (IBC), and was the first United States bank to set up a branch in Singapore. Located at 1 Prince Street, IBC was primarily involved in the trade financing of Malayan rubber and tin exports in the early 20th century.
In the 1980s, Citibank was the first bank in Singapore to popularise the use of automated teller machines (ATMs). Committed to helping consumers achieve their financial goals, Citibank established its Global Consumer Banking division in 1982 to cater to the needs of individuals and small businesses. In the early 1990s it created Singapore's first telephone banking service which was manned 24 hours by CitiPhone officers.
Although a relative latecomer to the retail-banking sector, the bank has grown into a formidable market player with a major market share in key businesses including unsecured lending, deposits and investments and secured assets. Citibank was among the first four foreign banks to be awarded a Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 1999.
In June 2002 Citibank was the first QFB-licensed bank in Singapore to offer the Visa global debit service, and the following July it was the first in Singapore to introduce a debit card cashback scheme through the Visa platform. Called Citibank Instant Cash, the scheme allows customers who hold an International Citicard with the Visa point-of-sale debit feature to withdraw funds from their Citibank accounts when making purchase payments at retail locations.
In recognition of its people development practices, Citibank's Global Consumer Group in Singapore was awarded the People Developer Standard by SPRING Singapore (the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board) in 2003. This is a national initiative to recognise and award outstanding people and management practices in Singapore.
Citibank Singapore
In June 2004, Citibank announced that it would be incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup in Singapore, known as Citibank Singapore Limited, with a paid-up capital of S$1.5 billion. This move, which saw Citibank becoming the first foreign bank to do so, came as part of Citibank's strategy to grow its international businesses and reaffirmed the bank's long-term commitment to the Singapore. The new entity began functioning on 1 January 2005.
Citibank International Personal Bank Singapore, or Citibank IPB Singapore, is a division of Citibank Singapore Limited that caters to people who want to invest in other countries through offshore banking. It is a pioneer in the offshore banking business in Singapore with more than 20 years of Personal Banking expertise. Currently Citibank IPB Singapore has one branch in Capital Square.
The bank was business and finance magazine Euromoney's Best Bank in Singapore in 2008–2009, and Best Bank in Asia in 2009.
References
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Citibank in Singapore. |