The US-headquartered banking group has made a senior appointment for the Asia region.

This week, Citigroup has appointed Sharad Mohan as head of international personal bank for Singapore, reporting to Shyam Sambamurthy, international head of Citigold and Citigold private client, and Tibor Pandi, Citi country officer for Singapore.

In this role, Mohan is responsible for the direction and performance of IPB Singapore, the firm’s offshore wealth management business serving affluent and high net worth individuals domiciled across the region.

The IPB Singapore franchise, which marks its 40th anniversary in 2023, is a key part of Citi Global Wealth Asia, the firm said in a statement. As head of IPB for Singapore, Mohan will drive initiatives that sharpen the firm's focus on the wealth continuum offered by Citi Global Wealth Asia. He will leverage Citi’s global network and market leadership to drive business growth, it said.

“The International Personal Bank franchise is an important part of the Citi Global Wealth business as we continue to serve clients pan-regionally in Asia,” Sambamurthy said.

Mohan, who brings close to 30 years of experience in consumer banking and wealth management at Citi to his new role, has served in consumer banking and wealth management roles across Singapore and India. He joined Citi as a management associate and was most recently head of retail banking for Citi India, the firm said. Mohan has led large and results-driven teams, and launched business initiatives across wealth management, product and client segments, client experience and innovation.

Citi Global Wealth Asia is Citi’s wealth management business in the region and is core to Citi’s global wealth strategy with two of its four global wealth hubs based in Hong Kong and Singapore, the firm said. 

Busy times
In the first quarter of the year, Citi Global Wealth revenues grew by 20 per cent sequentially, supported by increases in investment and insurance revenues. Over the past couple of years, the lender has shed retail banking businesses in a number of regions to focus more on areas such as wealth management. For example, in early March it completed the sale of its India consumer business to Axis Bank.The bank also completed the sale of its retail banking and consumer credit card businesses in Vietnam to the UOB Group. Since announcing its intention to exit consumer banking across 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico as part of its strategic refresh, Citigroup said it has signed sales agreements in nine markets and has now closed sales in seven markets including Australia, Bahrain, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and India. 

Client acquisitions across Citigold and Citigold private clients were 68 per cent higher year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023 and doubled in Citi private bank in the same period, the firm said. The firm’s Citigold and Citigold private client propositions cater to affluent to high net worth clients.  

Among recent developments, New York-listed Citigroup reported its first-quarter 2023 financial results here. In late April, the bank appointed Vikram Singh as chief executive for its Malaysia business.