Citi Raises Savings Rates to Deepen Client Ties, Targets $3 Trillion Held Elsewhere

Citigroup (C) said Monday it will offer tiered savings rates to retail customers as an incentive to consolidate assets at the bank, part of a push to capture a share of the $3 trillion its clients hold elsewhere. Citigold private clients will receive a 4.35% annual percentage yield, Citigold customers 4% and Citi Priority clients 3.5%, provided they hold a checking account with qualifying direct deposits or maintain an average investment balance. The tiers require $30,000 to $1 million-plus in combined average monthly balances. Kate Luft, Citi's head of retail banking, said the "always-on" boost is the final component of the bank's value proposition for its roughly 4 million retail customers. About $2 trillion of the assets held outside Citi sits in the mass-market segment, she said. Citi reported $900.9 billion in domestic deposits, or about 4.7% of U.S. deposit market share, per FDIC data as of June 30. In the third quarter, wealth unit average deposits rose 3% and Citigold and retail bank revenues climbed 16% to about $2.3 billion. Citi plans a larger marketing investment next year and a small business banking revamp in the second half of 2027.