Citibank (M) Bhd has become the first foreign bank to offer private retirement savings in Malaysia, via partnering CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd as the distributor for the latter’s Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) to its customers.

On Dec 10, Citibank and CIMB-Principal inked a Memorandum of Understanding to distribute a comprehensive range of funds to offer management products and services locally within the latter’s PRS, the bank said in a statement, Thursday.

Citibank Head of Retail Banking Elaine Fan said acknowledging the demand from its discerning customers, PRS fitted perfectly within the wealth continuum solutions, thus when the scheme was launched in Malaysia last year, Citibank collaborated with CIMB-Principal to realise the opportunity.

“Our partnership as CIMB-Principal’s PRS distributor is an important milestone for us in supporting the Government’s initiative in encouraging the public to plan for their retirement years effectively,” she was quoted as saying in the statement.

Meanwhile Munirah Khairuddin, CIMB-Principal Chief Executive, was also quoted in the statement as saying Citibank customers can sign up and benefit from the potentially good returns now on their money invested in the funds it managed under the PRS stable which also would further boost public awareness on savings.