Citibank Conquers Asia

In May, 1998, Jakarta was smoldering. Mobs had just toppled President Suharto. Indonesia's wealthy ethnic Chinese had left the country, and most foreign bankers had fled with them. But Simon Williams, the head of Citibank's Asian retail business, did just the opposite, flying in from his plush Singapore office to Jakarta to plot strategy with local consumer-banking manager Barry Lesmana. Citi temporarily shut its Jakarta branches, but a skeleton staff at the heavily guarded Grand Hyatt Jakarta kept cash machines and electronic-payment systems operating. Meanwhile, at Singapore airport, where many middle-class Indonesian refugees landed, Citi staffers greeted them with placards reading "Citibank Will Help You. Come Here!" Many responded--and opened accounts on the spot.

Violence gripped Jakarta long after that. But in the weeks that followed, Williams and Lesmana strolled the streets, dressed in jeans and T-shirts to deflect mob attention, and scouted possible branch sites. Taking advantage of liberal new bank rules, Simon and Lesmana signed leases for 61 branches, most the size of a public rest room--enough to accommodate an ATM and an attendant. Smart move. The number of accounts rose 300% from 1998 to 1999; most were opened by upscale Indonesians leery of local banks. Citi earned a 100% return on its $10 million investment in the new branches in their first 12 months in operation.