Then it opened a
retail bank branch in Moscow on 20th November
2002, Citibank became the first American retail
bank to open a branch in Russia, following in
the footsteps of Austrian banks (such as Raiffeisenbank,
since 1998) and Turkish banks (Finansbank),
which have opened branches there over the last
four years.
ZAO Citibank offers its customers banking services
accessible via the Internet and by telephone
(24 hours a day), debit and credit cards, savings
and investment products, accounts with unlimited
ceilings in several currencies (Russian roubles,
US dollars and euros) as well as alerts on mobile
phones. ZAO Citibank also offers more specific
services to wealthy customers: its CitiGold
wealth management banking package includes local
and off-shore investment services, a top-of-the-range
card, advice tailored to individual needs and
a series of privileges.
Foreign banks hold only 2 % of the 30 billion
dollars (30,17 billion euros) of retail bank
deposits in Russia. The Russian state-owned
bank Sberbank has 70 % of the deposit market.
Moreover, Russians are estimated to hold some
40 billion dollars (40,23 billion euros) directly
in cash. Only 25 banks with exclusively foreign
capital operate in the country. Citibank has
in fact been present in Russia since 1993, but
previously operated exclusively as a commercial
bank, with 1,500 corporate customers.
