Hiring Q&A: Citigroup's private bank

Citigroup is building up its private banking presence in the UK. We asked Charlotte Kramer, head of human resources for global wealth management in Europe, just how many people it's hiring, and where.

Q: How many people are currently employed by Citigroup's private banking arm?

There are around 270 in London and 700 altogether in Europe, the UK included.

Q: Are those all private bankers?

No. We have around 30-35 private bankers who are relationship managers in London and another 30-40 product specialists who have a background in areas like structured lending, tax, investment counselling, asset allocation and discretionary money management. The remaining people are support staff.

Q: We understand Citigroup's hiring in UK private banking. How many people are you planning to add?

In the UK, we'll probably add about 20-25 people this year, of whom about half will be client-facing bankers.

Q: Why is the UK a focus for your private banking build out?

The UK is the most mature, sophisticated market in Europe and wealth is being rapidly created in the UK, particularly in sectors such as entrepreneurs, real estate and private equity - our target client segments. We want to build a really strong onshore business while safeguarding our offshore operations in Switzerland. The UK market has seen strong growth on the client side and will remain our focus for 2006 and 2007: we're adding UK product capability, tax reporting as well as implementing initiatives such as capital call lending [investing in private equity, real estate and distressed debt].

Q: What about less developed markets such as Southern Europe?

We already have strong businesses in Spain and Greece and we're selectively expanding in Italy and Turkey. In Greece, we're building an onshore product specialist team for the first time and we're broadening our client mix in that market to complement our strong presence in the shipping sector.

Q: Everyone seems to be expanding in private banking right now. Are you finding talent shortages are a problem?

The market's tough and a lot of banks are after private bankers with good skill sets, but we haven't had any problem attracting talent. We 're looking for a particular skill set - people who can combine strong relationship and sales skills with real investment expertise and a passion for helping their clients. In addition to hiring, we're also looking within our own organisation to develop potential talent and provide growth opportunities for individuals across the business.

Q: Have you found it necessary to raise pay in order to attract people?

We pay market rates and believe people join Citigroup for the long-term career opportunities.