Citibank to branch out into second-rung cities

Citibank is on an expansion drive in the second rung cities of India. It will soon open branches at Vapi in Gujarat and in Pondicherry. It is also extending its low minimum balance "Suvidha" savings account facilities at its branches Kolkatta and Ahmedabad.

The new branches will increase Citibank's presence to 26 cities through a network of 39 branches.

Suvidha account has helped Citibank bag a sizeable number of savings account customers.

The bank now has one million Suvidha account holders across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai, Sarvesh Sarup, country business manager, global consumer group, said after the launch of the bank's customer education programme called "Use Credit Wisely".

Suvidha account holders have to keep a minimum balance of only Rs 1,000 against the normal minimum balance of Rs 5,000. Suvidha accounts are also being leveraged to get corporates to sign up for salary accounts of their employees.

The "Use Credit Wisely" programme is part of Citibank's global "customerfirst@citi" initiatives. Citibank has earmarked $300 million for propagating its education programme aimed at promoting awareness of the benefits and risks of consumer credit.

India is among the top three markets chosen for the education programme and about 10 per cent of the $300 million is expected to be spent in India.

As part of the customerfirst@citi initiatives, Citibank in India has decided to address the much maligned telemarketing of credit cards, loans and other products.

It will henceforth ask customers to choose it they wish to stay updated on offers about Citibank products and services on email or mobile phones.

Customers will be given a choice to place a "do not disturb" signage on their account if they wish so, to ensure they do not receive calls or mails on various products.