Citibank hailed as best foreign bank in RP

Citibank has marked its 100th anniversary in the Philippines by again being cited the "Best Foreign Bank in the Philippines" by Finance Asia Magazine, one of Asia’s leading financial publications. It is the third consecutive year Citibank has received the award and attests to the bank’s ongoing commitment to the Philippine economy.

In giving the award to Citibank, Finance Asia cited a testimonial which it said "cannot be ignored" from President Arroyo who thanked Citibank for its invaluable and innovative contributions to the development of the Philippine financial markets to the benefit of the government, private business, and consumers in availing of global advances in banking products and technology.

Mrs. Arroyo also noted Citibank’s role in assisting the Philippines to access global financial and capital markets in support of the country’s development financing requirements and commended the bank for its singular contribution in the training of generations of Filipino business leaders and finance professionals.

The award joins a long list of accolades for Citibank in Asia and globally. Citibank was recently voted the "Best Bank in Asia," by Euromoney Magazine’s 2002 Awards of Excellence. Citigroup chairman and CEO Sanford I Weill was given the 2001 CEO of the Year award from the leading CEO Magazine.

In accepting the award, Weill said the company’s new management structure was a key element to its global success. "Our new management structure, designed to leverage the performance of our leading product franchises globally while building upon a strong local presence in every region in the world, will enable us to continue to grow our market share and profitability as we pursue our goal of being truly ‘best in class’ in each of our product areas across the more than 100 countries we serve."

The awards come during a year in which Citigroup continues to show it can deliver significant returns to shareholders. Citigroup reported a $4.08 billion GAAP net income for the second quarter, a 15-percent increase over the same period last year. Citigroup’s core income for the second quarter was a record $4.06 billion, a seven percent increase over the second quarter of 2001.

Weill added the performance of the second quarter "once again underscores the leadership positions of our businesses. Citigroup’s Global Consumer businesses generated 25 income growth this quarter, with strong customer volume growth in cards, retail banking and consumer finance."

Citigroup’s ability to generate strong results is underlined by the fact that its total equity reached $92.5 billion as of June 2002.

In the Philippines, Citibank has built major businesses in corporate, consumer, private and investment banking over the past 100 years. Its net income after tax was up 20 percent against last year. It now ranks third by asset size of any bank in the Philippines. Citibank’s local nature is reflected in the fact that of the 1,539 staff it employs, 99 percent are Filipinos.