AMEMBASSY BRASILIA NOMINATES CITIGROUP BRAZIL FOR THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001204

SIPDIS

EB/CBA FOR SMITH-NISSLEY

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON BEXP ELAB ETRD BR
SUBJECT: AMEMBASSY BRASILIA NOMINATES CITIGROUP BRAZIL FOR THE
SECRETARY'S CORPORATE EXCELLENCE AWARD (MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE


SIPDIS
CATEGORY)


1. (U) Based upon its innovative approach to development and
export, Charge d'Affaires nominates the U.S. multinational firm
Citigroup Brasil for the Secretary's 2006 Corporate Excellence
Award.


2. (U) Begin Text of Award Nomination

With over 220,000 checking accounts, US$ 1.5 billion in net equity,
US$ 12 billion in total assets and over 4,000 employees in the
country, Citigroup is building a history in the Brazilian market
that is more and more based on ethics, financial strength and
credibility. Present in Brazil since 1915, Citigroup is a market
leader within the financial industry. Its innovations in corporate
banking have helped its customers expand and prosper. Committed to
corporate citizenship, Citigroup actively works with NGOs such as
The Nature Conservancy, the Rotary Club, Junior Achievement, and
Habitat for Humanity on social responsibility projects involving
education, the environment, and community development. Its exemplary
efforts to promote employment among the disadvantaged are
unparalleled among multinationals here. Finally, its micro-credit
program has given a badly-needed boost to Brazil's growing small and
medium-sized enterprises.

Good Corporate Citizenship.

Citigroup sponsors a wealth of social responsibility projects, in
such diverse fields as education, the environment, and community
development. Through its grant dollars and its business and
employee volunteers, it focuses on areas that offer the greatest
opportunity to build economically strong, vibrant and
self-sustaining communities.

-- The CitiEsperanca Association was created by Citigroup
employees, who, in addition to financial support, dedicate their
personal time and knowledge to a variety of educational programs.
To date, CitiEsperanca (which literally translates to, "Citi -Hope")
has invested over US$500,000 in social projects and assistance
campaigns, benefiting more than 10,000 people.
-- In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, it supports programs
to conserve and protect Brazil's Araucaria forest. Inter alia, this
project seeks to restore 2,500 acres of woodlands, promote
reforestation, improve the economic well-being of small landholders
and engage local communities in seedling production
-- Working with E+CO, Citigroup is measuring the environmental and
financial impact of clean energy enterprises and facilitating
finance under the small-scale energy framework of the Clean
Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.
-- Citigroup supports a multifunctional technical course which
teaches life-skills (computers, English, financial education,
networking, etc.) to young men aged 10-18 in social risk situations.
In addition, the bank supports the "Educating the Adolescent for
Tomorrow" project, whereby 56 high school students 16 years and
older attend classes in Portuguese, math, computers, and arts while
gain working experience in entry-level jobs.
-- In conjunction with the Ayrton Senna Institute, the bank
participates in the Champion Circuit program, which seeks to foster
responsibility within communities and train teachers and education
professionals to better use managerial information. When this
project is complete, over 10,965 students in low-income cities will
have benefited.
-- In partnership with the Rotary Club, Citigroup participates in
the Paulista Professionalization Institute, which prepares public
school students from Sao Paulo's central region for their first job
experience. Launched in June 2005, 247 youngsters have benefited
from this project and 35 have already entered the job market.
-- Since 1998, Citigroup, working with Junior Achievement, has been
a part of the Banks in Action program. Through a business
simulator, this effort allows participants to operate a bank under
competitive conditions so that they may better understand the
concepts of administration, decisionmaking, and financial lending.
The program helps to develop entrepreneurial spirit in high school
students by stimulating personal development and providing
youngsters a clear vision of the business world.
-- Since 1995, Citigroup employees have done volunteer work with
the ABRINQ Foundation Living Library, which introduces youth to the
benefits of reading.
-- Finally, in the states of Sao Paulo and Pernambuco, Citigroup
works with Habitat for Humanity to provide improve housing for the
poor and expand financial/credit literacy.


Contribution to the Overall Growth and Development of the Local
Economy.

Through its pioneering efforts in micro-credit, Citigroup has
contributed greatly to local economic development. The bank's
US$487,000 grant to the ABRINQ Foundation is providing both credit

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and training so that 720 young adults can open their own business.
The bank supports a similar effort with Habitat for Humanity. And
for the past 2 years, Citigroup has sponsored a
Micro-entrepreneurship Award to raise awareness about microfinance
and publicize best practices.

Development of Competitive and Innovative Activities with Measurable
Results.

Within the Brazilian financial industry, Citigroup has been a leader
in embracing innovation. On the corporate banking and investment
side, Citigroup was the first bank in Brazil to deal in commodity
derivatives, thereby allowing its clients to avoid having to remit
margins outside of the country (as is usually required by offshore
brokers). In addition, its development of Balance-Sheet hedges
enabled customers to offset the currency exposures within their
various corporate entities, thus hedging risks at minimum cost. On
the consumer banking side, Citibank has paved the way in offering
discrete groups of customers consortium (i.e., self-financing)
options.


Exemplary Employment Practices.

In 2005, the respected Brazilian business magazine Exame named
Citigroup Brazil as: 1) "One of the Best Companies to Work for,"
2) "One of the Three Best Banks to Work for," and 3) "One of the
Best Companies for Women to Work for." The bank's efforts to
provide employment to the disadvantaged highlight its commitment to
a fair and open workplace. Collaborating with a historically-black
university in Sao Paulo's working class east side, it is offering
internships to 21 Afro-Brazilian students to both develop their
career prospects and broaden the bank's employee base. For three
years, these interns will have the opportunity to deepen their
knowledge of financial concepts and learn more about products and
processes. The university will have access to supervisors'
evaluations and will link them to student grades. The hiring cycle
has already begun.

In addition, Citigroup also partners with the Brazilian government
and local industry associations in developing the "Young Apprentice"
program to benefit young students from public high schools. As the
weak public school system in Brazil means that these students often
are unable to pursue career-enhancing job prospects, Citigroup
recruits and trains these graduates for entry-level positions.



End Text of Award Nomination

Chicola