Citi appoints co-heads of Citi Global Wealth in APAC

The bank saw record net new money inflows of $20b in the region last year.

Citi has appointed Fabio Fontainha and Steven Lo as co-heads of Citi Global Wealth in Asia Pacific.

Citi Global Wealth is a unit formed in January that unifies the wealth management teams in Citi’s Consumer Banking and Institutional Clients Group.

Fontainha and Lo will report to Citi APAC CEO Peter Babej and Jim O’Donnell, head of Citi Global Wealth.

In a memo announcing the appointment, Babej highlighted the importance of the region for the bank’s wealth management business prospects.

“The Asian wealth management sector stands out for its scale and growth prospects, driven by the emergence of a vast middle class and the rapid development of regional capital markets,” Babej said.

He added that the bank is “well-positioned” for market leadership thanks to their industry-leading talent, distinctive global network and broad product platform.

With approximately US$300b in assets under management (AUM), Citi ranks as a top three wealth manager in APAC.

In 2020, the bank saw record net new money inflows of over $20b across its regional franchise, spanning consumer banking wealth management as well as the private bank. Notably, Citi opened its largest wealth hub globally in Singapore last year.

Citi has also announced plans to double its AUM in APAC by 2025 and triple the number of its clients in the same period.