What We Carry Forward

The events of 9/11 remain so vivid in my memory.

Yet many Citi colleagues have no memory of that day. Some were very young in 2001 and some had not yet been born. They know 9/11 through the stories others have told them. Twenty-five years on, that makes our responsibility to remember, and to pass those stories on, even more important.

Today, my thoughts are with six Citi colleagues I never had the opportunity to meet — Andre Bonheur, Richard Bosco, Juan Lafuente, Nicole Lindo, Francisco Liriano and Joseph Zuccala. We remember them and all the innocent lives that were taken that day. We hold close the families and friends who have carried the weight of this profound loss for 25 years, and we honor the first responders whose selflessness defined the very best of humanity.

We also remember what people did for one another. Citi colleagues joined the search for survivors at Ground Zero. Our financial center at 111 Wall Street was quickly transformed into a relief center, whilst dozens of colleagues remained there and at 388 Greenwich for days, sleeping on the floor as they worked to keep our operations running and support our clients.

And the response reached far beyond New York. Across the world, colleagues came together to mourn, to hold tributes and memorials, to donate blood, to organize food drives and to contribute to relief efforts. In a moment of extraordinary tragedy, people across Citi showed what it means to stand with one another, across cities, countries and borders.

Those stories are every bit as powerful today as they were 25 years ago. They remind us that in the darkest moments, people reveal what they value through how they show up for one another.

In the years following the attacks, Citi took tremendous pride in participating in many different aspects of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, from underwriting bonds to finance One World Trade Center to supporting both the National September 11 Memorial and the Perelman Performing Arts Center, the two institutions which serve to educate and inspire future generations. And our relief fund for the families of victims and survivors has served over 1,400 students, also helping to create a lasting educational legacy out of this tragedy.

This year, we will again commemorate the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance by volunteering with the 9/11 Day organization in New York and 15 other U.S. cities.

A quarter century later, remembrance is much more than an act of looking back. It is how we ensure that those we lost — and the courage, service and humanity that followed — remain part of the story we carry forward.

Thank you for all you do to keep that spirit alive in our work and in our communities every day.

Jane