Citi Uruguay: 100 Years of SupportingLocal Development

Can you imagine turning 100 years old?

At Citi Uruguay we can, and we're so proud and excited about it!

The first Citi branch in Uruguay opened in 1915 as The First National City Bank of New York and since then, we have worked without interruption, becoming the oldest operating private bank in Uruguay, and the only American bank in country. Over the past century, we have contributed to Uruguay's national economic growth and collaborated with the community in order to provide tangible contributions in key areas of local development.

Through cooperation with the government, we have supported nationally important energy projects such as the construction of the Boya Petrolera de José Ignacio oil storage buoy in 1978, and the Represa de Palmar hydroelectric power station in 1982. In addition to these traditional energy projects, we have supported the creation of the Bolsa Electrónica de Valores (BEVSA) electronic stock exchange in 1993 and the financing of the sixth pumping line of the Sanitary Works of the State (O.S.E.) in 2008, which improved the water supply in the capital and increased water access to some of Uruguay's more rural areas.

Citi Uruguay is also supporting the expansion of Uruguay's electricity market infrastructure with Brazil, working in tandem with ISUR, the company responsible for the Electric Frequency Converter Station between Uruguay and Brazil. As a result of Citi's support on this project, Uruguay's ability to purchase electricity from Brazil will expand eight-fold.

In addition, we have helped the Uruguayan state in the international capital market system. In a process driven by Bill Rhodes, who is now a Citi Senior Advisor, Citi Uruguay helped the Uruguayan government arrange the transfer of outstanding bank loans to "Brady Bonds" in 1991. "Brady Bonds" were financial instruments created in order to convert bank loans issued mostly to Latin American countries into a variety of new bonds after many Latin American countries defaulted on their debt in the 1980s.

Also, Citi has had the privilege to play a key role in the debt restructuring that allowed the country to recover from its severe financial crisis in 2002. We led various debt management operations, such as the issuance of securities to recover the local investment grade and the international recognition for the proper management of their public debt. As part of the country's debt restructuring, Citi played a key role in the country's pesification process, which converted the money that the Uruguayan government owed to external debtors into Uruguayan pesos.

We have also been a strategic partner in expanding Uruguay's international presence. We help multinational companies establish and build their businesses in Uruguay and help local Uruguayan companies enter new markets and export their products globally. As a result, we have a solid commercial and consumer banking business in Uruguay, focused on corporate banking and private banking. Through our Citigold service, we provide unique solutions and strong support from Citi investment to our customers.

Citi Uruguay maintains a strong commitment to the development of local derivatives market through the organization, over the years, of various seminars and courses in order to educate our customers on proper financial risk management.

All of our corporate successes have always been accompanied by strong support of the Uruguayan community. We have worked with several institutions supporting culture, entrepreneurship and social inclusion via education. These values are also transferred to each of our Citi Uruguay colleges who, year after year, have left imprints on the organization, and helped our company become the recognized institution that we are today.

This long history reveals the extensive roots that Citi has in Uruguay, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated and active team. We are proud to know how far we have come but know that we still have much to do. This anniversary encourages us to continue working to keep driving results. We toast our past success with an eye for achieving greater success in the next 100 years!