New York-headquartered Citi has announced the appointment of Vicky Kong as consumer business manager for Citibank Hong Kong and as chief executive of Citibank (Hong Kong), effective September 6.
A spokesperson for Citi confirmed with FinanceAsia that Kong replaces Lawrence Lam, who in August was appointed CEO of Prudential Hong Kong.
Kong was most recently regional head of wealth management for Greater China, North Asia and Hong Kong, and global head of wealth proposition, at Standard Chartered Bank. Prior to joining Standard Chartered in 2008, Kong spent 14 years at Citi, taking on roles across the bank’s Retail Banking, Wealth Management and International Personal Banking divisions.
Reporting to Angel Ng, head of Asia for Citi Global Wealth, and to Aveline San, CEO for Citi Hong Kong and Macau, Kong will oversee Citi’s overall consumer banking business in Hong Kong, including the bank’s wealth strategy, the announcement explained.
San’s own appointment as CEO for Citi Hong Kong and Macau was reported by FA in August.
Ng said in the release that the bank’s wealth and consumer business would continue to grow as markets undergo rapid changes and people increasingly place focus on managing their wealth. She added that Kong will drive forward the bank’s ongoing digital transformation journey.
“The Bank will continue to further drive the growth of the consumer and wealth businesses through the use of digital capabilities to further enhance the client experience throughout their banking journey,” the spokesperson for Citi explained.
Hong Kong remains one of Citi’s four global wealth hubs, while the bank divests from consumer banking in 14 markets across Asia and EMEA. It sold its Philippines consumer banking arm to UnionBank in August and its Australia consumer business to NAB in June. It has also reached agreements in India, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Bahrain, a spokesperson earlier told FA.
In April this year, Standard Chartered appointed Alson Ho to replace Kong as head of wealth management for Hong Kong. A spokesperson for Standard Chartered declined to comment on who was now overseeing wealth management for Greater China and North Asia, earlier under Kong’s remit.
