Citi Private Bank Appoints Akbar Shah as Head of the Mega Wealth Business for Asia Pacific

Singapore – Citi Global Wealth Management appointed Mr. Akbar Shah to lead the newly created position of Head of Mega Wealth business for the Asia-Pacific region, reporting to Mr. Kaven Leung, Chief Executive Officer of Citi Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific. The appointment will take effect from October 1, 2007.

Based in Singapore, Mr. Shah will lead a team of senior private bankers to provide an exclusive, customized and differentiated wealth management proposition to its wealthiest clients. Citi’s private banking clientele in the region includes half of Asia’s billionaires.

The Asia Pacific region is among the world’s fastest growing regions in terms of private wealth. In the most recent Forbes list of billionaires, China and India surpassed Japan in terms of the number of billionaires, an unprecedented achievement.

“Clients in this niche segment demand a brand of private banking characterized by exclusive service involving teams of wealth management specialists. Discussions with such clients revolve around customized solutions founded on intellectual rigor and innovative investment ideas, especially in the areas of structured products, private equity, hedge funds and real estate,” said Mr. Leung.

“They aren’t interested in off-the-shelf products. Being unique and being innovative are critical to success with this special group of clients.”

Mr. Leung added: “We are pleased to have Akbar to lead this initiative. He has a proven track record with clients and we look forward to his leadership in building this business to serve our mega wealth clients even better than we are already doing.”

Mr. Shah is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Citi’s Global Wealth Management business for the Middle East. However, he is no stranger to the Asia-Pacific wealth management industry. During his 21-year career with Citi, he held various roles in the Asia Pacific region as a senior banker, segment head for the Ultra High Net Worth business as well as Head for Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.