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 �0A;-- 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 BRASILIA 00001204 002 OF 002 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