Woori, SC, KB vying to hire Citibank Korea's private bankers

Woori Bank CEO Kwon Kwang-seok, front row center, poses at the bank's Two Chairs Exclusive (TCE) Signature Center in Seoul, Monday, along with former Citibank Korea employees, who will work at the center and the bank's main branch. Courtesy of Woori Bank

By Park Jae-hyuk

Domestic and foreign commercial banks are engaged in a fierce competition to hire Citibank Korea's private bankers, with the aim of attracting their affluent clients who have been looking for new banks with which to entrust their assets, since Citigroup decided last year to end its consumer banking operation in Korea.

Woori Bank said Monday it hired 22 Citibank Korea retirees, deploying 13 of them to its Two Chairs Exclusive (TCE) Signature Center, which specializes in managing the assets of super-rich customers living in the country's wealthiest district of Gangnam.

The private bankers, who had worked together at Citibank Korea's Banpo wealth management center, will continue to manage the assets of their clients at their new workplace, enabling Woori to enjoy the inflow of hundreds of billions of won in capital, according to industry sources.

“Along with the former Citibank Korea employees having know-how in private banking, our TCE Signature Center will offer high-quality asset management services to wealthy customers, integrating our expertise in corporate banking, tax affairs and real estate consulting,” a Woori Bank official said.

Standard Chartered (SC) Bank Korea, which opened a private banking center last month inside the Haeundae LCT building in Busan, has been trying to hire dozens of private bankers from Citibank Korea's wealth management centers in Daejeon, Daegu and Busan, where multiple rich customers have been holding most of their assets in cash.

KB Kookmin Bank, which had once been mentioned as one of the candidates to acquire Citibank Korea's wealth management division, reportedly offered full-time positions to the foreign bank's private bankers in recent job interviews. The Korean bank plans to open the Apgujeong Flagship Private Banking Center in Gangnam in July.

Hana Bank also interviewed Citibank Korea's private bankers last year and decided to hire less than 10 of them, according to industry sources.