Citi Launches New Financial Education Initiative in Dalian

Dalian, China – Citi, in partnership with the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (“SWUFE”), today announced a new, two-year initiative designed to further develop financial knowledge among those working in the information technology (“IT”) sector in China.

The initiative, made possible through a Citi Foundation grant, will see the publication of new text books as well as the organization of two Training-of-Trainer (TOT) sessions for IT teachers from 20 leading universities across the country. The announcement was made at the opening of the first training session in Dalian, attended by representatives from SWUFE, Citi China, as well as IT teachers from 12 leading universities across China.

Andrew Au, CEO of Citi China, said, “Citi understands the important role played by technology in supporting a flourishing and world-class financial services sector. We are proud to be playing a leading role through initiatives such as this one towards expanding the IT talent pool in financial services in China for the long-term benefit of China’s financial services industry.”

Yang Jirui, Deputy Party Secretary of SWUFE, said, “Thanks to Citi’s support, this initiative will help bridge the gap between the academic and practical worlds in Financial IT Education. In addition to funding support, we are delighted that Citi has been an extensive contributor of knowledge, in the development of the new text books.”

The initiative has been built on the success of a similar program launched by Citi in 2006, which saw the creation of China’s first financial IT textbook, entitled “Basic Banking Knowledge for IT Personnel.” The new program will see two additional books developed, the first of which is being written by a team of leading academics and industry practitioners, and is expected to be available in December 2009.

The Training-of-Trainer’s Program will see teachers participate in a series of intensive courses to acquire a better understanding of the application of information technology in modern banking. Teachers will be certified after successfully completing the training, and will be encouraged to incorporate their newly acquired financial and banking knowledge into their own teaching curriculum.

Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Citi China
Citi China - Citi first established an office in China on May 15, 1902, in Shanghai. In April 2007, Citi was among the first international banks to locally incorporate in China. Citi’s locally incorporated entity is known as Citibank (China) Co Ltd, which is wholly owned by Citibank N.A. Today Citi is a leading international bank in China, and has eight corporate bank branches - in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Dalian - and twenty-six consumer bank outlets. With operations in more than 140 countries around the world, Citi is the most global of all international banks in China. Additional information may be found at www.citi.com.cn or www.citibank.com.cn