Missing bank exec had taste for high life, ‘new shiny things’

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

THE BANK OFFICIAL reported to have made off with at least P300 million in deposits of mostly Chinese-Filipino clients is said to enjoy the high life.

Francis Bryan Ang, who has been relieved of his post as assistant vice president of Citibank’s Citigold wealth management unit, is “addicted to new and shiny things,” according to a schoolmate at Xavier School.

“Maybe he got a taste of the high life, liked it, but found he couldn’t afford it. So this is what he did,” said the schoolmate who asked not to be named for security reasons.

But Ang’s father, Manila Councilor Bernie Ang, told the Inquirer that his son was being persecuted in an effort to prevent him from exposing purported irregularities in the American banking giant.

“There is a concerted effort to destroy him because Bryan was about to expose something he could not take...He was about to reveal those things and told the management about what he found wrong in the system, and they jumped the gun on him,” the father said.

In a statement issued Friday, Citibank said it was looking into “questionable” transactions initiated by a wealth management executive suspected to have swindled some depositors of its branch in Binondo, Manila.

Ang, 36, was not named in the statement. But banking sources confirmed it was he, and said he was believed to have slipped out of the country.

“We have filed criminal and civil cases against him, supported by his own admissions and very strong documentary evidence. We are working closely with the relevant authorities who are assisting us in this matter,” Citibank said.

Flashy cars

Ang drives around in expensive European cars, including a Peugeot convertible, a two-door Volvo sports car, and a Mercedes Benz CLK coupe, the schoolmate said.

He is known to wear expensive watches and has been seen using a Vertu, a high-end cell phone.

As an officer handling bank accounts of around P4 million, Ang might have been driven to acquire fancy cars and high-end items no matter the price, the schoolmate said.

Ang was described as low-key, mild-mannered and coming from a respectable family “na may kaya” (with means).

He was popular and well-liked by his co-alumni at Xavier School, an exclusive school catering to Chinese-Filipino families based in Greenhills, San Juan City.

Ang graduated from Xavier in 1992 and went to the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, for his degree in economics.

The schoolmate said he was very active in Xavier’s alumni association and once ran for president of the group but lost by one vote.

“A lot of people know him, and he knows a lot of people. Of course, this is where he sourced his clientele. But he was respected and trusted,” the schoolmate said.

At one point in Ang’s career at Citibank, the schoolmate said, his superiors imposed on him a quota of P2 million a month in deposits.

“Having that kind of a quota can be very stressful,” the schoolmate said. “A lot of the alumni are very disappointed. The name of our school is at stake. We can’t believe one of our own would do such a thing.”

Councilor Ang said his son was prepared to answer the charges.

From the article, it also said that Councilor Ang said that his son

"had realized that his wealth management job at Citibank was not doing the country any good because he was siphoning money abroad."

Early this month, Ang decided to inform Citibank of his misgivings—a move, the father said, that brought trouble for his son.

Ironically, the father said, Citibank issued a letter to its clients last month that it was to deal with Ang, but reportedly withdrew the letter this month after his son expressed his misgivings.

“They might have been scared of the exposé that Bryan was planning to do. Their intention now is to discredit him at all cost even if it makes the bank look stupid,” the councilor said.

“He is doing this (exposé) for the country,” the councilor said, adding that his son was open to testifying in a congressional inquiry should legislators decide to conduct a probe into Citibank’s alleged anomalies.

I find those statements to be funny. Mainly because every single bank in the country does this for their wealthy clients. Metrobank, BPI, Chinabank and all other banks do this. What kind of exposé is he talking about? So he's now painting his son to be a patriot?

I don't want to be judgmental but haven't we heard this kind of talk before? Mostly from politicians, which is father is one.

Read the full article here.