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Citigroup Expands Central American Operations By Acquiring Grupo Cuscatlan


WEBWIRE

Transaction Will Add More Than One Million Clients and Expand Regional Distribution Network

December 13, 2006 - New York – Citigroup announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the subsidiaries of Grupo Cuscatlan from Corporacion UBC Internacional S.A., the subsidiaries’ holding company with 2,500 shareholders, for $1.51 billion in cash and stock. Grupo Cuscatlan, with operations in El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama, is one of the leading financial groups in Central America.

Citigroup will acquire Grupo Cuscatlan’s banking and financial intermediaries, including pension and insurance operations in El Salvador. This transaction will further expand Citigroup’s corporate and retail operations in the region and complement its pending acquisition of Grupo Financiero Uno, the largest credit card issuer in Central America.

Operating under the Banco Cuscatlan trademark, Grupo Cuscatlan subsidiaries offer corporate and commercial banking products and services, as well as a growing suite of consumer banking products. The group has $5.4 billion in assets, $3.5 billion in loans, $3.4 billion in deposits as of September 30, 2006. The company has highly regarded and strong corporate relationships throughout Central America. Grupo Cuscatlan currently serves more than 45,000 corporate clients and 1.2 million consumer clients through a distribution network of 202 branches and 263 ATMs throughout the region. It has approximately 5,000 employees.

“The acquisition of Grupo Cuscatlan is another significant step in expanding Citigroup’s businesses in Latin America,” said Charles Prince, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup. “This transaction complements our recent acquisition of Grupo Uno and, taken together, these transactions quickly and significantly strengthen our distribution capabilities and product offerings to serve retail and corporate clients in Central America.”

“Grupo Cuscatlan’s management team and business model have produced excellent results on a consistent basis in recent years. We are delighted to welcome Grupo Cuscatlan and its team of professionals to Citigroup,” said Manuel Medina-Mora, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup Latin America & Mexico. “We are confident that Grupo Cuscatlan and its employees will help us to continue delivering high-quality, innovative products and services to individual and institutional clients throughout Central America.”

“Grupo Cuscatlan has a rich history of growing strategically to meet the increasing needs of our clients,” said Mauricio Samayoa, CEO Grupo Cuscatlan. “From a basically local operation, we grew to a regional institution as our clients expanded their reach. We are delighted that, as we join the Citigroup premier brand and global network, we will be able to offer our loyal clients and employees top of the line world-wide products.”

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is anticipated to close in early 2007.

Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking was the sole financial advisor to Citigroup on this transaction.

Citigroup has operated in Central America for more than 100 years with a strong corporate investment banking presence in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama, as well as a credit card business in Panama. Recently it announced the acquisition of Grupo Financiero Uno, which has more than one million retail clients representing $1.1 million credit card accounts, $1.2 billion in credit card receivables and $1.3 billion in deposits in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Grupo Financiero Uno also has a distribution network of 75 branches and more than one hundred mini branches and points of sale. This transaction is still pending various regulatory approvals.

Citigroup is present in 24 Latin America countries and has a leading position in corporate banking in the region, along with a growing consumer banking presence and strong client recognition and brand loyalty. The company operates more than 2,200 retail and consumer finance branches in Mexico and Latin America, serving 13,000 corporate clients, 17 million retail bank clients and over nine million credit card holders.


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Citigroup
Citigroup, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing 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. Major brand names under Citigroup’s trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.

Certain statements in this document are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors. More information about these factors is contained in Citigroup’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.



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