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Corporate Citizenship
Citi is committed to running our business in a manner that benefits society and the environment. This approach — highlighted in a decade of external reporting — is part of our heritage and has remained consistent even through the recent economic downturn.
We believe that our strategic focus on Citizenship — supported by continued internal commitment and informed by external feedback — will strengthen confidence and trust among our stakeholders.
Our initiatives are in four major categories: Responsible Finance, Ensuring Access for All, Valuing our People, and Operations.
Vikram Pandit,
Chief Executive Officer
Citigroup Inc.
Over the past two years, the people of Citi have dramatically transformed our company. In its financial strength, strategic focus and operating efficiency, this is a fundamentally different organization from what it was only two years ago. Citi today is positioned to achieve profitability and growth, with a firmly renewed and even stronger dedication to serving the interests of our clients, shareholders and communities where we do business around the world.
The transformation of Citi is the result of extremely hard work by people everywhere in our organization. To me, it is especially impressive that despite all the challenges that faced our businesses, my Citi colleagues continued to devote themselves more energetically than ever to community service and the ideals of good corporate citizenship. I believe they were determined to show that regardless of its business difficulties, Citi remained a strong force for good citizenship and an institution in whose community consciousness they could take much pride.
The economic crisis has caused severe hardship in the United States and elsewhere. The difficulties of recent years have been a powerful reminder that a company must never forget that it profoundly affects – and is affected by – the world in which it functions. That is why it needs to see itself – and define its purpose – in the broad context of society as a whole and as a member of the communities it serves.
This basic principle especially applies to a global financial institution, which in vital ways touches the lives of hundreds of millions of people every day. Citi is striving hard to be a force for positive change, because it is intrinsically the right thing to do, and frankly, because we know that if we do not interact intelligently and constructively with the world around us, we put our businesses and shareholder value at risk.
There are also three more immediate reasons for Citi's renewing, and strengthening, our commitment to corporate citizenship. One is the extraordinary economic hardship millions of people have been experiencing. Second, there is our acute awareness that the entire financial system systemically underestimated risk and contributed to the crisis. Third, our sense of obligation has been heightened by the financial assistance Citi received from American taxpayers under the TARP program. We have repaid the US government's TARP investment, with a substantial return, and we believe we still owe a debt of gratitude to taxpayers – a debt that can best be repaid through responsible corporate behavior.
When Citi faced its greatest challenges, we regrettably had to scale back our charitable contributions to very worthy causes. However, we have combined still-meaningful funding with a substantial expansion of other equally important efforts to help people in hardship.
Citi has assisted more than 2.4 million Americans with over $56 billion of debt obligations. This includes more than 824,000 homeowners whom we helped to avoid potential mortgage foreclosure. Citi has also designed several proprietary programs that specifically target the unemployed and others in hardship to modify their credit card, consumer finance, auto loan and student debts. In many of our customer-assistance endeavors, we have taken the initiative to reach out to people and offer help before they have to come to us.
In addition, our Citi Microfinance programs are expanding their partnerships with community groups in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. Much of our focus is on helping disadvantaged individuals start their own small businesses. We are also helping low-income people to obtain checking and savings accounts as well as other basic financial services that otherwise would be unavailable to them.
Citi also has made significant investments in innovative educational programs. These include initiatives to encourage saving for college as well as scholarship grants. Further, Citi has developed unique programs aimed at helping low-income individuals learn the basics of managing household finances and planning for their financial futures in ways appropriate to their personal circumstances.
Meanwhile, we strive to ensure that our day-to-day business activities are aligned with our commitment to good citizenship. In all our businesses, we are committed to what we call Responsible Finance. That means we are taking – and will continue to take – an industry-leading role in contributing to economic recovery by lending extensively yet prudently to businesses of all sizes and across industries, including companies in renewable energy and clean technologies.
Responsible Finance also commits us to the development of products and services that promote customers' choice and control in their own finances through transparent and easy-to-understand offerings. Finally, Responsible Finance commits us to being outspoken advocates of industry and regulatory changes that advance and protect the interests of consumers.
We already have a clear record of action and accomplishment in Responsible Finance and we will build on that record in 2010 and beyond.
Early this year, the disaster in Haiti underscored poignantly the ties between Citi and its communities. After the earthquake, I flew to Haiti to visit with the families of five colleagues who died in the tragedy. I, together with those who accompanied me on the flight, also spent time with Haitian colleagues who had survived, and we delivered much-needed medicines to the country. Naturally, we were deeply moved by the grief and destruction all around us.
Yet, we also witnessed inspiring courage and determination. Our colleagues in Haiti succeeded in reopening our offices there just 11 days after the quake. They were determined to do this, regardless of severe personal problems, in order to provide services that the people of Haiti desperately needed for recovery.
This was Citi's people at their best. Their actions defined good global citizenship better than any words can.
The spirit of community service and selflessness drives all the work described in the following pages. For that, I thank my colleagues everywhere in Citi. I also would like to express my deep appreciation to the many community leaders and groups who partner with us in America and around the world. They are the best allies we could possibly have as we try to do our part to shape a better world.
Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer
Citigroup Inc
Citi Foundation
Learn how the Citi Foundation fosters economic empowerment for those in need in the communities we serve.Read more
Global Citizenship
2009 Brochure PDF
Spanish Version PDF
Updates at Citi
- Citi Joins United Nations Global Compact:
Citi has become the first major U.S. bank to sign up to the global accord.
Read more - Citi Elected Chair of the Equator Principles Steering Committee:
Citi, one of the four founding banks of the Equator Principles, will take on the role of Chair of the Equator Principles Financial Institutions Steering Committee.
Read more
