Citi & IFC to Support Expansion of BRAC's Micro Lending in Bangladesh

BRAC
BRAC, with more than 100,000 employees, BRAC is the largest NGO in the world. Diagnosing poverty in human terms and recognizing its multidimensional nature, BRAC takes holistic approach in striving to fulfill its twin objectives of poverty alleviation and the empowerment of the poor. This approach combines economic development and livelihood generation enterprises with health, education and other social programs. BRAC's outreach covers all 64 districts of the country and it has been called up to assist a number of countries, including Afghanistan, Srilanka, Pakistan, Southern Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Additional information may be found at www.brac.net

IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC's vision is that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through syndications and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

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, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Citi Microfinance Group
Citi Microfinance Group works with MFIs as partners and clients to expand access to financial services and products to the "unbanked" who are not currently reached by the formal banking sector. With a worldwide presence, Citi Microfinance Group aims to provide the sector varied products and services including capital markets, wholesale finance, individual credit, savings, remittances, insurance as well as technical assistance.


	Printer Friendly Page		FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) February 11, 2008 Citi & IFC to Support Expansion of BRAC's Micro Lending in Bangladesh IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Citi, the leading global financial services institution have closed a US$22 million term financing to support BRAC's microlending in Bangladesh. The facility will be made available in local currency Bangladesh Taka (BDT) having a tenor of five years with an amortizing structure. BRAC, one of the largest microfinance institutions in the world, continues to invest in portfolio expansion. As part of BRAC's move for managing its balance sheet, this innovative structuring and exploring diversified sources of financing, especially longer tenor financing, will be beneficial to the microcredit and small & medium enterprise segments served by BRAC. The loan is part of a wider Citi led financing for BRAC that was mandated last year. Of the US$55 million in equivalent BDT term financing, Citi is providing US$42 million in BDT. The US$22 million IFC-Citi tranche closed recently includes a US$ 18 million partial credit guarantee from the IFC. This risk sharing partnership with IFC will enable Citibank in Bangladesh to extend additional long-term local currency funds to BRAC. Fazle Hasan Abed, Chairperson of BRAC, present at the signing with IFC and Citi, said, "To finance the growth of our microfinance operations, we need local currency financing. Support from IFC and Citibank, as well as our partnership over the years, has been invaluable." "With this guarantee, BRAC will be able to reduce its dependence on grants for growth and outreach to poor people, particularly women borrowers," said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO. "Citi is honored to once again support BRAC in their microlending expansion plans in Bangladesh. Citi has a track record of closing several groundbreaking deals for BRAC. IFC is an important partner of Citi in various markets globally. We look forward to working with BRAC in the future. I would like to thank all our partners who helped make this such a successful transaction," said Mamun Rashid, Managing Director & Citi Country Officer – Bangladesh. Citi and BRAC have a long relationship that included the issuance of the world's first Triple A rated local currency securitization of microcredit receivables in 2006, this was followed by innovative remittance distribution arrangement and the first-ever backstopped facility for an MFI (BRAC) in 2007. This is IFC's first investment in BRAC, but the two institutions have a long-standing relationship. In Bangladesh, IFC and BRAC have jointly pioneered projects in housing finance and SME lending in the past. BRAC's microfinance and development programs cover all 64 districts in Bangladesh. It also offers microloans to women through its group-lending methodology. Nearly 1,200 nongovernmental organizations provide microcredit services in more than 40,000 Bangladeshi villages, where half of the population lives below the poverty line. The country's microfinance sector has been financed typically through contributions from donors and subsidized government funds, particularly for smaller microfinance institutions. As this funding diminishes, the sector increasingly borrows from commercial banks and taps into voluntary savings by members. # # # BRAC BRAC, with more than 100,000 employees, BRAC is the largest NGO in the world. Diagnosing poverty in human terms and recognizing its multidimensional nature, BRAC takes holistic approach in striving to fulfill its twin objectives of poverty alleviation and the empowerment of the poor. This approach combines economic development and livelihood generation enterprises with health, education and other social programs. BRAC's outreach covers all 64 districts of the country and it has been called up to assist a number of countries, including Afghanistan, Srilanka, Pakistan, Southern Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Additional information may be found at www.brac.net IFC IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC's vision is that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through syndications and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org 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, Smith Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com. Citi Microfinance Group Citi Microfinance Group works with MFIs as partners and clients to expand access to financial services and products to the "unbanked" who are not currently reached by the formal banking sector. With a worldwide presence, Citi Microfinance Group aims to provide the sector varied products and services including capital markets, wholesale finance, individual credit, savings, remittances, insurance as well as technical assistance.