FinanceAsia Picks Citi as Best Bank in Asia

Citi has been chosen as the best bank in Asia for 2007 by FinanceAsia magazine. Citi picked up the award for the 11th year in a row from the editorial team at FinanceAsia. The magazine, one of Asia’s leading monthly finance magazines, announced their results in mid-December. Citi also picked up the award for best commercial bank in Asia.

“This award is well deserved recognition for the Citi team in Asia Pacific whose dedication and commitment have helped generate record results throughout the year. Every year the competition gets tougher and I would like to again thank the editorial team at FinanceAsia for this excellent endorsement of Citi in the region. Finally I would like to thank our clients across the region who place their trust in Citi, exceeding their expectations is what helps Citi receive these welcome accolades,” said Robert Morse, CEO Markets & Banking Asia Pacific.

In the editorial to announce the results, FinanceAsia said, “The bank has undoubtedly achieved the most, both in the field of commercial banking and investment banking over the past year ... the firm is embedded in Asia’s financial markets, and collects, holds, invests and disburses currency, documents, stocks and bonds for clients – handling 400,000 transactions valued at $40 billion in the Asia-Pacific region every day.”

The editorial also played up Citi’s continued investment in the region. “In the past 12 months it has launched prime brokerage services in Singapore, expanded commercial banking operations in Indonesia and has begun offering securities and fund services in Vietnam. In Taiwan it announced the completion of the acquisition of Bank of Overseas Chinese, which will help it grow its customer base across the country, most notably in the SME space. This is more proof that the firm continues to position itself to profit from the continued rise of Asia on the global front.”

Citi also picked up best cash management bank, best cash solutions bank, best leveraged finance house, best deal of the year, most innovative deal of the year, best project financing deal and best Singapore deal from FinanceAsia. In the July Country awards from FinanceAsia, Citi also picked up best foreign bank in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Citi
Citi, 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. Citi’s major brands include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.