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Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
December 29, 2004
Citigroup Contributes USD$3 Million to South Asia Tsunami Tragedy Relief Effort
New York/Hong Kong/Singapore – The Citigroup Foundation today announced that it will provide USD$3 million in support of disaster relief efforts following the earthquake that devastated coastal areas around South Asia on December 26th, triggering a series of tsunami waves causing massive loss of life, damage, and flooding throughout the region.
In addition to the USD$3 million, Marge Magner, Chairman of the Citigroup Foundation, further announced that the Foundation will match employee donations to legitimate non-profit or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in support of the South Asia tsunami relief efforts with a corresponding contribution to the Red Cross.
"In the wake of this terrible tragedy, Citigroup is committed to helping the many communities affected recover and rebuild in the coming days and months," said Robert Morse, CEO, Global Corporate and Investment Banking, Citigroup Asia Pacific. "Our employees in the region have already begun to donate money and make in-kind donations in support of local needs, and we are hopeful this institutional effort will be of further assistance."
Ashok Vaswani, CEO of the Global Consumer Banking, Citigroup Asia Pacific, noted: "Given the scale of this tragedy, we will fund programs on both a regional and a country level as the specific needs of the stricken communities become clear, including initiatives involving employees, customers or our businesses. Citigroup has been active with NGOs in each of the affected countries and we plan to work with other community partners around the region engaged in relief and eventually rebuilding efforts."
Of the USD$3 million contribution, $1 million will be given to the Red Cross for first response measures in the region, $1 million will be allocated to local NGOs in the affected countries to meet the most pressing needs, and $1 million will be earmarked for rebuilding the affected communities.
This funding supplements the first-response work already underway by members of Citigroup in the affected countries. Employees in hard-hit areas have been organizing immediate relief efforts and setting up local accounts to receive further contributions.
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About Citigroup and the Citigroup Foundation
Citigroup (NYSE: C), the preeminent 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, insurance, securities brokerage, and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Travelers Life and Annuity. The Citigroup Foundation focuses its grants primarily in three areas: financial education, educating the next generation, and building communities and entrepreneurs. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.