The appointee has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry.

Joy Cheng (pictured) was appointed head of Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) for Hong Kong in February, succeeding Anson Kwok who retired in January, Citi has just announced.

Cheng is responsible for overseeing the CCB business and operations in Hong Kong and for driving its financial performance. She reports to Gunjan Kalra, head of Citi Commercial Bank for Asia North, Australia and Asia South clusters, and Aveline San, CEO and head of banking for Citi Hong Kong and Macau, the firm said.

Cheng, who has more than 30 years' experience in the banking industry, began her career as a management associate at Citigroup and has served in several senior roles in corporate banking, the firm added. She was most recently head of corporate banking for Hong Kong, a position she has held since 2019, where she was responsible for managing institutional clients, including corporates, public sector organisations, financial institutions, and local subsidiaries of multinational companies. Prior to that, she served in a number of senior roles including head of financial institutions for Hong Kong and head of Asia-Pacific multinational coverage for the financial institutions group. 

“Hong Kong is one of the largest markets by flow revenue for Citi Commercial Bank globally. We have gained considerable market share in Hong Kong over the past few years, working with mid-sized corporates in the healthcare, technology, industrials, consumer and retail, and services sectors,” Kalra said.

Given Citigroup's integrated business model, the corporate banking side of the lender typically works closely with the private banking arm, given how many high net worth and ultra-HNW clients own operating companies.

The US bank said it is also focused on capturing the emerging opportunities in the Great Bay Area as entrepreneurship and wealth creation in GBA flourishes.

“We are well positioned to support GBA companies with cross-border banking needs, helping them enter new markets and expand internationally,” San added.

In Asia, CCB serves clients in 11 markets including Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.