THERE are only an estimated 5 million of them in the country, but the Manila branch of global lender Citibank bared a plan on Thursday to capture as many and effectively manage the wealth of these young, influential and wealthy Filipinos.

In a briefing, Sergio Zanatti, the consumer business manager of Citibank in the Philippines, said the estimated 5 million young and wealthy Filipinos form part of a larger pool of so-called emerging affluents in Asia estimated to number 500 million individuals across the region.

The age of these emerging affluents in the Philippines typically ranges between their 20s and 45 years, upwardly mobile and with investible assets of some P4 million more or less.

Zanatti said Citibank aims to capture this market in line with the bank’s commitment to serve clients as they grow in affluence and as this group’s financial requirements similarly evolve.

“We introduced wealth management in the Philippines in the early 1990s and we have been very successful in this front. In 2010 we outpaced the single-digit industry performance in Asia as we posted a double-digit growth in customer base. We are tracking that success this year but recognize that the Citigold market is a finite segment. To continue to grow aggressively, we are looking to the emerging affluent and leveraging on our leadership in wealth management to grow our client portfolio,” Zanatti said.

The so-called Citigold market in the Philippines is composed of people with a deposit account of around P4 million.

According to Zanatti, the emerging affluent market is one of the fastest-growing segments in the region, its expansion averaging between 12 percent and 15 percent a year.

Revenues from this segment, he added, was seen growing at least 8 percent up to 15 percent a year in most countries in Asia, based on a Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report in 2010 and by Citibank’s own studies.

Zanatti said their research shows the emerging affluents usually want a bank that values their time, immediately addresses their needs while offering a world-class digital-banking service.

Additionally, these clients live increasingly global lifestyles and want a bank that supports them with their international banking, traveling and investing need.

“Our new value proposition seeks to deliver a distincly higher level of service along all of these dimensions and asks clients to rethink the way they bank and aspire to a higher standard,” said Daniel Baranowski, head of Citibank’s emerging affluent segment in Asia Pacific.