Citi Awarded Top Honors in Trade Excellence in Trade Finance Magazine’s Annual Client Poll

Citi announced today that it has won top Trade Finance awards including Best Short-Term Trade Finance Bank, Best FI Trade Servicing Bank and Best DFI (Development Finance Institution) Finance Arranging Bank in the annual Trade Finance magazine client poll. Additionally Citi was awarded several regional wins including Best Overall Trade Bank in North America as well as Best Overall Trade Bank in Asia for the 7th year in a row.

Trade Finance magazine is published by Euromoney Institutional Investor and covers the global trade, export/import, commodity and supply chain finance markets. This annual client poll, now in its 14th year, is well-established as an industry standard by which corporations and financial institutions alike are rated for the level of expertise and service provided to their clients. A record number of votes were cast this year through Trade Finance's online voting site, totalling over 16,000.

"We are honoured to receive this recognition from our clients. These wins serve as confirmation that we are providing the types of innovative solutions that the market requires and we look forward to continuing to develop offerings aligned with our clients’ evolving trade needs,” said John Ahearn, Global Head of Trade in Citi’s Global Transaction Services division.

“These wins demonstrate the broad scope of Citi’s trade finance capabilities, ranging from traditional trade finance, to its ability to collaborate with other institutions, to the longer term structured and developmental aspects of the business,” says Oliver O’Connell, Editor, Trade Finance magazine.

Global Presence

Citi’s reach was evident in the recognition received in the global awards for Best Short-Term Trade Finance Bank, Best FI Trade Servicing Bank and Best DFI Finance Arranging Bank. Citi also received ‘Highly Commended’ honours for Best Trade and Supply Chain Bank, Best Export Finance Arranger, Best Structured Trade Finance Institution, Best Online Trade Finance Bank and Best Factoring Institution.

Regional Expertise

Citi was awarded Best Overall Trade Bank in Asia for the seventh year in a row. Asia also garnered repeat wins for Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Taiwan and secured 'Highly Commended' in China, Korea, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

In the Americas Citi retained the top spot as Best Overall Trade Bank in North America and Best International Trade Bank in Argentina, while also gaining new recognition for Best Trade Bank in Mexico (Banamex) and Best International Trade Bank in Colombia. 'Highly Commended' designations were given for Best Trade Bank in the USA and Best International Trade Bank in Peru.

Citi was also secured 'Highly Commended' honors for Best Trade Bank in Europe and Best International Trade Bank in Pakistan.

Global Transaction Services, a division of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group, offers integrated cash management, trade, and securities and fund services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world. With a network that spans more than 100 countries, Citigroup’s Global Transaction Services supports over 65,000 clients. As of the first quarter of 2011, it held on average $355 billion in liability balances and over $13 trillion in assets under custody.

For more information about Citi’s Global Transaction Services, specialized trade solutions and these awards, please visit: www.transactionservices.citi.com. For more information on Trade Finance magazine please visit: www.tradefinancemagazine.com.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, 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. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.