FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
April 23, 2007
Citibank China Launches RMB Services to Chinese Residents
Shanghai – Citibank (China) Co., Ltd. (“Citibank”) today launched Renminbi (“RMB”) services to Chinese residents in its Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen branches. The historic milestone was celebrated at an event held at Citi China’s flagship branch in Shanghai.
“The opportunity to serve Chinese residents with local currency products and services is a truly defining moment in the long history of our business in China. We are delighted to be in a position to launch RMB services to Chinese retail customers and we are committed to making sure we provide our customers with only the very best level of service, advice, and financial solutions,” Mr. Richard Stanley, Chief Executive Officer, Citi China, said.
Mr. Lee Ah-Boon, Vice Chairman, Citibank (China) Co. Ltd., said, “As we launch local currency services for local residents, we are deeply committed to placing an unrelenting focus on creating value for our customers. In the months to come we will continue to launch new local currency products and services, expand our distribution channels as permitted, and provide our customers with a best-in-class customer service experience.”
New products and services will be rolled out in a phased manner. Two types of service offering will be made available. The first is the regular Citibank service, which requires a minimum balance of RMB80,000 or above. Customers using the Citibank service will be provided with a choice of a comprehensive range of services to manage their wealth. These include savings and investment products, such as the multi-currency deposit, flexible time deposit, premium account, and structured investment account; mortgage loans; insurance, with products designed to both protect and grow wealth; and remittance services, including Citi-RemEx, which allows customers to remit funds from Citi China accounts to Citi Greater China accounts within three hours.
The second category of service offering is Citibank’s CitiGold wealth management offering, which requires a minimum balance of RMB800,000 or more. CitiGold is designed to provide world-class wealth management services. The CitiGold offering is distinguished by factors that include team-based relationship managers for personalized banking products and services, access to global research & dedicated information channels, unique proprietary tools such as CitiGold Financial Needs Analysis, and membership rewards and privileges. CitiGold also leverages a professional team of Citi analysts who monitor market trends and the latest financial developments from around the world to provide indepth market insight, providing customers with world-class research and market information.
As it launches RMB services, Citibank China remains firmly committed to financial education in China. To this end, Citibank will continue to hold regular customer seminars and information sessions, among other initiatives, ensuring that customers continue to build their knowledge of financial products and the associated risks and returns.
An account maintenance fee of RMB100 per month will apply for those Citibank accounts that have a daily average balance below RMB80,000. For CitiGold customers, an account fee of RMB200 per month will apply should the daily average balance be below RMB800,000.
Citibank’s consumer network in mainland China currently comprises sixteen outlets located in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Chengdu. Citi has also been granted approval to open a new branch in Hangzhou, which will be opened in the first half of 2007.
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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 brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
Citi China
Citi first established an office in China on May 15, 1902, in Shanghai. Today Citi is the premier foreign bank operating in China, offering the broadest product range of any foreign bank in China. Citi currently operates six corporate & investment bank branches - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Chengdu, sixteen consumer bank outlets in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, and one representative office in Xiamen. With operations in more than 100 countries around the world, Citi is the most global of all foreign banks in China.