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Philippines |
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Business Presence
Citi has been in the Philippines since 1902 and provides corporate and investment banking, cards, consumer banking, and wealth management services. Citi Philippines employs over 4,400 staff and has two corporate offices, six Citibank branches and 36 licensed savings bank branches. The Philippines houses the consumer banking call center and is Citi's regional hub for financial reporting operations, payment and employee services, credit/risk management and technology services.
| Citizenship History |
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Since 2007, Citi Philippines has supported the Petron Foundation’s Mariculture Livelihood Program with grants totalling US$85,000. The programme provides alternative long-term livelihood options for fishermen in Nueva Valencia in Guimaras province who were displaced by a massive oil spill in 2006. |
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Citi has partnered with the Philippine Business for Social Progress on Project B.L.U.E. (Buildings for Literacy, Understanding and Education) since 2002 and constructed 40 new classrooms in 16 public schools, benefiting more than 4,000 elementary school children each year. In 2008, classrooms were built at the Maliksi Elementary School in Bacoor, Cavite. |
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Since 2007, Citi Philippines has partnered with the Colayco Foundation for Education to implement the HATCH Program with grants worth US$55,000. The first programme in 2007 was a 2-hour financial literacy and personal finance session conducted in 18 colleges and universities , benefiting more than 9,000 undergraduate students. In 2008, the programme supported young adults working in ten business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in Metro Manila and Cebu. |
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Citi Philippines focuses on the environment, small and growing businesses,
microfinance, financial education, and youth education
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Environment: Motivating Customers to join Citi in Going Green
In August 2008, Citi Philippines
introduced the first ‘Great Arctic
Eco Tour’ campaign to incentivise
customers to learn more about
practical ways to protect the
environment.
Over a three-month period, Citibank
customers were invited to a series of
environment talks by WWF-Philippines and encouraged
to check their carbon footprint,
use recyclable bags, and switch to
compact fluorescent (CFL) light
bulbs for energy saving. In addition,
for every PhP 2 million (US$45,025)
worth of newly deposited or invested
funds, Citibank clients had the
opportunity to win an all-expense paid
trip for two to the Arctic. The three
lucky winners have claimed their
prizes and will be heading to Alaska
and Norway in May or August 2009.
Citi Philippines also designated
October 29 as ‘Go Green Day’
internally to focus employees on what
they can do to save the environment.
Over 400 employees wore green
outfits to work and began the day by
listening to a WWF talk on climate
change. Afterwards, senior staff from
Citi Realty Services (CRS) shared what
Citi Philippines has been doing to save
energy and manage waste, such as
reducing electricity consumption by
almost 19% between 2005 and 2008.
Other activities for employees on
‘Go Green Day’ included learning how
to evaluate their carbon footprint at
a WWF booth, purchasing discounted
‘green’ products, and enjoying a
presentation by a local eco-traveller.
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“Through the Great Arctic Eco Tour promotion, more of our
customers realised that going green means being conscious
of the little things like unplugging one’s phone charger
when it’s not being used, or switching to CFL bulbs to save
energy.”
Karla Abat
Marketing Head, Retail Branch Banking, Citi Philippines |
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| Small and Growing Businesses: Transforming Marginalised to Idolised |
In 2008, Citi Philippines continued
its support for the Philippine Business
in Development (BiD) Challenge, and was proud to
contribute to one of the international
winners coming from the Philippines.
The BiD Challenge is an emerging
markets competition that challenges
entrepreneurs to develop and execute
innovative business plans, thereby
stimulating economic growth and
generating jobs and income. The local
part of the programme is organised by
the Philippine Business for Social
Progress and is
supported by a PhP 1.15 million
(US$26,000) Citi Foundation grant.
The 2008 Philippine BiD Challenge ran
from April to December. During the
first phase, 106 local entrepreneurs
submitted entries. Of these, 35 were
short-listed and had the opportunity
to develop a complete business plan.
The business plans were assessed on
criteria such as the quality of their
proposal, marketing strategy, financial
viability and social development
impact. Eight winning business plans
were announced at the Philippine BiD
Challenge awards ceremony held in
December, with each being awarded
seed funding of PhP 100,000
(US$2,250). |
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After winning the local Business in Development (BiD) business plan competition sponsored
by Citi Philippines, Rags2Riches founded by Rev. Xavier Alpasa, SJ, went on to win the grand
prize in the international 2008 BiD Challenge. This small enterprise contributes to both
poverty reduction and environmental sustainability by providing income for more than 300
poor urban women who weave scraps of cloth into stylish bags and accessories.
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In conjunction with the awards
ceremony, a ‘Marketplace’ was held
where the finalists exhibited their
business ideas and met with potential
investors, and Citi funded 1,000 copies
of a BiD Book so that these promising
entrepreneurs could market
themselves to an even wider audience.
In addition to Citi’s funding, Citi
Philippines staff were actively
involved in the programme. Twelve
local Citi employees served on the
Preliminary Screening Committee, the
Technical Screening Committee, and
the Board of Judges.
The most exciting development
was that the grand prize at the
International BiD Challenge held in the
Netherlands in January 2009 went to
one of the Philippines’ business plans.
Rags2Riches is a
small enterprise founded by
Rev. Xavier Alpasa, SJ, which
contributes to both poverty reduction
and environmental sustainability. It
provides income for more than 300
poor urban women who weave scraps
of cloth into stylish bags and
accessories designed by Filipino
fashion icon, Rajo Laurel.
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“Rags2Riches’ top prize out of 8,000 entries at the
international Business in Development competition is a
testimony to Filipino talent even at the poorest levels of
society. The award has not only increased our capital for
international expansion, but has also elevated a former
landfill community to become world class. This kind of
recognition ultimately changed these women’s lives from
being marginalised to idolised, from scraps to jobs, and
literally from rags to riches.”
Rev. Xavier Alpasa, SJ
Founder, Rags2Riches |
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| For more information about Citi Philippines and its citizenship activities, please go to: www.citibank.com.ph |
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