Citibank Hong Kong has come a long way since 1902, when it established its first office in the then British colony. The US-based company, which offers all kinds of banking services, serves over a million clients and has 4,000 employees across 49 retail branches in Hong Kong. Worldwide, it has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions.
Set up four years ago, its management training programme focuses on commercial banking and aims at developing a pipeline of banking talent.
'[They can] develop a career path within the commercial banking field, either in sales, or [as] a specialist in product or credit risk,' says Maisie Lam, country human resources director, Citi Hong Kong.
While the number of hires depends on the quality of applicants, the bank recruits about 10 to 20 trainees annually and prefers those with some work experience, although students of any discipline are welcome to apply.
'Previous experience in sales or banking and finance is an advantage,' Lam adds.
Jessica Cheung, a relationship manager who joined the company as a trainee five years ago, says: 'In my batch, many graduates didn't come from a financial study background.'
The interview process for trainee applicants includes the usual assessment test, group discussion and panel interview, which allows interviewers to check academic excellence and observe applicants' attitude.
