Citi Hires Black-Owned Firms to Distribute $2.5 Billion Bond Issuance in Support of Affordable Housing

New York – Citi announced that it worked exclusively with five Black-owned firms to syndicate a $2.5 billion bond issuance, reinforcing the firm's commitment to increasing racial equity in the capital markets and broader financial services industry.

Building on Citi's long-standing commitment to increasing affordable housing, the proceeds from the bond will finance the construction, rehabilitation and preservation of quality affordable housing for low-and moderate-income populations in the United States.

In November, Citi and the Citi Foundation announced that one year into a three-year commitment, the Action for Racial Equity initiative had already invested $1 billion in strategic initiatives to help close the racial wealth gap and increase economic mobility in the United States. Citi is on track to far exceed its original $1.1 billion commitment which includes a goal to strengthen Citi's own policies and practices, including the expansion of the firm's own core business activities with minority-owned broker dealers and depository institutions.

"Safe and affordable housing is an important platform for financial stability and economic mobility, yet it is scarce and too expensive in many urban areas across the country," said Mark Mason, Chief Financial Officer of Citi. "Citi has been the #1 affordable housing development lender in the U.S. for the past 11 years and this bond issuance is reflective of our commitment to increase the availability of affordable housing units within the communities we live and work. Dr. King had a tremendous influence on the passage of the Fair Housing Act and I'm proud that Citi continues to leverage our business capabilities to help achieve equity in the housing market."

The $2.5 billion dual tranche transaction priced on January 18 and settled on January 25. For this transaction, Citi hired five Black-owned financial firms to underwrite and distribute the bonds to investors, in addition to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. The firms included Blaylock Van, LLC; CastleOak Securities, L.P.; Global Oak Capital Markets, Loop Capital Markets LLC and Security Capital Brokerage, Inc.

"Security Capital is proud to have been part of this transaction," said Nathan L. Lewis, President and CEO Security Capital Brokerage. "We truly appreciate the opportunity to partner with Citi in supporting affordable housing and look forward future opportunities to work together."

"This bond issuance is a win-win for Citi. Through our partnership with these minority-owned firms, we further enhance our best-in-class capital market distribution capabilities, while also financing affordable housing projects," said Michael Verdeschi, Treasurer of Citi.

Since 2015, Citi has worked with over 30 firms owned by underrepresented minorities, women and veterans totaling more than $150 billion in bond issuance.

Citi
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Contacts
Media: Danielle Romero-Apsilos, (212) 816-2264
Investors: Jennifer Landis, (212) 559-2718
Fixed Income Investors: Thomas Rogers, (212) 559-5091

Hong Kong/Singapore – Following the recent launch of a new Sustainable Time Deposit solution in Asia Pacific, Citi client and life sciences and diagnostics company Agilent Technologies has booked the sustainability-focused deposit program in Singapore as it furthers its commitment to sustainability.

“At Agilent, we are committed to sustainability and environmental protection since our founding,” said Sally Shung, Associate Vice President, Assistant Treasurer for APAC and EMEA region, Agilent. “Formalizing this sustainability deposit program in Singapore demonstrates the company’s vision of advancing our ESG commitment, from net-zero emissions to the Science Based Targets initiative of 1.5°C. Our goal is to maximize the positive impact of our business, contributing to the United Nations SDGs in a meaningful way. Agilent is always looking for opportunities to develop innovative sustainable financing solutions and we are proud of our strategic partnership with Citi on this initiative.”

This is the first sustainability-linked deposit globally for Agilent to align its treasury operations with its 2050 net-zero commitment by partnering with banks with a portfolio of sustainability initiatives.

Funds deposited into Citi’s Sustainable Time Deposit solution are allocated to finance or refinance assets in a portfolio of eligible green and/or social finance projects, based on criteria set in the Citi Green Bond Framework, Social Finance Framework, and Social Bond for Affordable Housing framework. These frameworks support the United Nations SDGs.

“Citi and Agilent Technologies have a strong and long-standing partnership in Asia Pacific. We are delighted to have the opportunity to extend this partnership and support Agilent in advancing the firm’s sustainability goals and priorities,” said Sandip Patil, Asia Pacific Head of Liquidity Management Services, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi. “Treasury teams are a strategic enabler for their businesses and treasurers are playing an important role in driving sustainability. Following the launch of the Sustainable Time Deposit solution in the region, we have seen strong client interest and look forward to working with our clients as they meet their sustainability commitments.”

Learn more about Citi’s Sustainable Time Deposit Solution.