Citi Asia Pacific Recognized for Excellence in Leadership During COVID-19

July 21, 2020

Citi was recognized by Euromoney with the magazine's Excellence in Leadership award in Asia Pacific for its support of colleagues, clients and communities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In the editorial write up accompanying the recognition, Euromoney observed:"Citi is a big financial institution present in virtually every large Asian economy. You don't get to be this size and last this long without an innate ability to react smartly and nimbly to systemic threats. Under [the region's] chief executive Peter Babej, Citi Asia Pacific was quick to react to the coronavirus crisis.

For retail and small business customers across the region, Citi provided a range of assistance, including fee waivers on loan extensions and reduced financing rates. For Asian institutional clients, the firm delivered effective and innovative capital solutions across its global platform, raising over US$10 billion. These transactions included the bank's first virtual IPO, for Nasdaq listed Huize, in which all roadshows were held via video and audio. Citi provided equally innovative support to its trade finance and cash management clients, using its digital infrastructure to support remote onboarding, payments and collections.

Euromoney's editorial added, "Within weeks, 75% of its workforce had transitioned to working from home, and it disbursed special compensation awards to 25,000 staff. When India went into lockdown, digital support staff worked overtime to ensure that corporate clients from Asia to the Americas were able to pay staff on time. Zoom meetings became de rigeur; virtual events and resources were put in place to ensure employees and their families were cared for."

To date Citi has provided over $10 million in relief measures for communities across Asia Pacific, including working with the United Nations Development Programme to raise funds in several markets. In Hong Kong, Citi donated more than 275,000 face masks to the Tung Wah Group of hospitals and US$150,000 to struggling families. In Singapore, it donated to Willing Hearts, a soup kitchen that delivers 6,500 meals a day to 40 locations across the country.

Babej commented, "This has been a tremendous team effort, and I want to again thank all my Citi colleagues for their focus, hard work and resilience. As the situation evolves, we continue to monitor developments across the region and remain fully committed to supporting our clients and communities."

Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides 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, transaction services, and wealth management.

Media Contacts
James Grifffiths, Tel: +852-2868-7668, Email: james.a.griffiths@citi.com

Citi Asia Pacific Recognized for Excellence in Leadership During COVID-19

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