When looking for a financial institution there are a couple of things that have to be right. One is that they have to have a track record that demonstrates that they can meet your individual needs and another is they are someone you can trust with your money. For many expats in Korea, when it's time to find a bank they can trust, the first name that comes to mind is Citibank. Citi's high profile in the industry and reputation as a leader make global citizens the world over familiar with the company. The general perception is that a company like Citi will do the right thing when it comes to taking care of their customers and their businesses.

 

Citibank in Korea

For Koreans, Citibank has been around for generations. Most foreigners in Korea hailing from the US, on the other hand know how big Citi is there, but until they start checking them out in Korea, have no idea of their history here. They might be surprised to learn that back in 1967 Citibank was the first foreign bank to set up shop in Korea. Over the years their capitalization has reached phenomenal levels - approximately 1.5 trillion won and shareholder's equity is at approximately 5.5 trillion won, which makes Citi the largest foreign investor in Korea. That alone says they are in Korea to stay. The last thing a banking customer needs is for their bank to cut and run when things get tough. Let's face it, the boarder between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world for a reason. Most foreign banking customers in Korea have a long-term commitment to be here and they want to know that their bank does, too.

Many factors influence the local economy, not the least of which are tense relations between the two Koreas and investors memories of the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Rather than playing it safe and pulling the plug when things have gotten tough in the past, Citi has stepped up to help. During the oil crisis in the 1970's , the bank provided a US$200 million loan. During the 1998 Asian financial crisis, Citi persuaded overseas creditors to roll-over US$21 billion of foreign debt. Citi also provided indirect assistance to Korea in working with US and Korean authorities on the US$30 billion currency swap deal in Oct. 2009. At the time there was a statement from the US Federal Reserve which said “... the Fed swap arrangement was universally applauded as a key confidence-building step, and Korea already has begun to draw on it.” Hey, if the Fed trusted Citi to be the go-between on a deal like that, then the average customer should be able to trust them with their business.

A little known fact is that Citi was awarded the national medal of “Soongryejang” in 1977, and “Heunginjang” in 1998 by the Korea government.

Citi's global perspective pays off for foreigners

Going to a branch to find out if their business is really geared toward foreigners, will leave the prospective customer with a pleasant surprise. Citi has made banking easy for English-speaking foreigners, which is something that many banks in Korea have tried to do, but really haven't gotten right. Citibank’s English-language services include Internet and mobile banking, a 24/7 CitiPhone customer service, SMS notifications, and e-statements. The also have an ATM locator on their website and the machines operate 24x7x365.

Taking the show on the road Citi's got you covered

Another thing that is important to business banking customers is that, when their business goes global, their bank will be able to keep up. Citi offers export/ import transactions, cash management, loan, bond issuance, foreign exchange, derivatives trading and M&A (Mergers and Aquisitions) consulting. Citibank Korea’s has a Global Transaction Service for cash management, trade finance and securities services in Korea and around the world. That says they'll be able to do what is needed to be done, wherever its need to be done.

The Citibank Korea's client list, which includes multinational companies, financial institutions, public agencies, small/medium sized companies and conglomerates, is quite impressive. It's always encouraging to know that the bank you are working with has the respect of the local business community. A customer will benefit from the experience that Citi has gained through support of their other clients in markets around the world.

Doing the right thing is the right thing to do

Citi is also a socially responsible company. They are big players in the charitable habitat movement with their own program ‘Citi Family Building Houses of Hope’. More than 100 Citi Korea employees traveled to Inje, in Gangwon Province this past summer to lend a hand. Employees of Citi have helped to build 21 houses over the past 13 years.

They also have financial education programs for students. Citi, in partnership with Ehwa Woman's University has established the Global Finance Academy. For 10 years this program has helped 1,200 students by providing practical financial knowledge and experience from some 200 volunteer experts from Citibank Korea.

Citi Korea also has the ‘Think Money’ financial education program. Partnering with YWCA Korea since 2006, Citi Korea and 500 of it's employees have been involved in educating more than 200,000 students in elementary, middle, high school .

 

Citiback Korea offers micro-credit lending for the women and disadvantaged borrowers. Helping those who need it demonstrates their desire to be good neighbors and freinds to the community

 

What “different” means for Citibank Korea

“Citi, It’s Different” is Citi Korea’s motto, but what do they mean Citi Korea says that they have challenged their management and staff to “think differently and approach the delivery of their service differently in the ways that they satisfy their clients, grow their business as a profitable and sustainable organization, and as they work as a team.”

One example is the new Citibank Korea web site. Often times when viewing a web page for a Korean company the user is inundated with flashing content, tons of images and a confusing array of options, not to mention spyware and other "helper" software being automatically downloaded onto their computer. A visit to the Citibank Korea web site will be a refreshingly different experience. They listened to their customers and conducted research on their own and came up with a site that is clean by comparison and truly user friendly.

On Citibank Korea's website the homepage only has six service icons. Once the customer logs in they can configure their personal homepage to meet their needs. Online transactions can be completed in three steps. There are investment tools which customers can use to consider options in the convenience of their own home. They can easily avoid a trip to the branch to ask a question by taking advantage of real-time communication tools on the site.

That's all great, but the most impressive feature of the new Citibank Korea online presence is the use of browser security for the first time by a bank on Korea. Gone are the days of downloading and installing proprietary user interface software before accessing banking services on line. This is a real breakthrough in reducing digital overhead for their customers.

The top priority for Y. K. Ha, CEO of Citibank Korea Inc. and Chairman of Citigroup Korea Inc. is customer satisfaction, profitable business growth, employee morale, and good corporate citizenship. Under his leadership, Citi Korea has increased its brand value with reinforced marketing and eye-catching promotions, products and services to the target audience.

When all is said and done, Citibank Korea is the real deal. An institution the customer can trust with a broad range of experience and services that delivers with the customer experience in mind. Now that really is different and better.

Appendix

(Additional details on Citi consumer banking products, corporate & investment banking examples, and Citi Korea’s CSR activities)

Citi continues to launch innovative products and services for individual clients

• Thanks to the continuous monitoring of the market needs, Citibank Korea has launched innovative products and services in the market.

• Citi Very Smart A+ Account, which offers high interest rate combined with various fee waivers that allow the client to use the account as a transactional account. It reached more than 1 trillion KRW of deposits in 3 months of launching(Aug-Oct 2009).

• Citi Step-up Deposit, which offers a new time deposit with an interest rate that steps up during the contract time (regardless of the market rate) and minimal penalties for early withdrawals. With those features, the Citi Step-up Deposit reached 1 trillion KRW in 3 months after launching(Oct-Dec 2009). This innovative product was announced as 2009 Most Popular Financial Product by Maeil Economic Daily, the #1 Economic Daily in Korea.

• Citi PremierMiles Card, which became the #1 Visa Signature issue in Korea since introduced in March 2009 with outstanding performance. It is the most attractive mileage card in the market that offers customers the ability to choose when and where to redeem their miles at different major international airlines. If customers prefer not to redeem their miles, they can also get the cash anytime since they never expire. Premier Miles is clearly raising the bar for mileage cards category.

• Citi Reward Card, which offers customers high earning rate and redemption flexibility. Launched in Nov. 2009, this card is welcomed by the card users as it offers very attractive point accumulation rates up to 20%, and provides customers with more flexibility on redemption options. It also provides global benefit of Citi World Privileges(CWP) and International Cash Card(ICC) functions which only Citi can offer in Korea.

• Perfect UPL(Unsecured Personal Loan) for Discount: Launched in Jan. 2010, customers can get loan rate discount just by putting money into their transactional deposit accounts, even for one day. "Perfect UPL for Discount” offers the benefit of lower loan interest by deducting 30% of the deposit balance from the loan amount, which is subject to interest calculation. This loan offers varied fee waiver in addition to the rate cut. If customers use CKI banking accounts to pay for their loans, they can benefit from full waiver of fees for using 16 varied banking services such as ATM, phone-banking/Internet banking fund transfer, issuance of cashier’s check, re-issuance of cash advance/debit card, and other.

 

Citi serves corporate clients with wider and in-depth services scopes

• Citi Korea is the only fully functioning securities and fund services provider in Korea.

• Citi Korea has direct custody and clearing with respective market share of 19% in terms of assets under custody and 28% in terms of transaction volume.

• Citi Korea is ranked the 2^nd largest trustee bank in Korea for overseas investment fund with the market share of 23%.

• Citi Korea is servicing 4 China QFII clients for license and quota application and local fund implementation.

• In 2009 and as of August in 2010, CKI achieved 100% market share in cross-border ABS and Covered Bond market of Korea.

• In the first half of 2010, CKI issued two fronting bonds favoring beneficiaries in Middle East on behalf of a Korean construction company for Engineering and Procurement Contract for a refinery expansion project.

• CKI is currently providing a wide range of export credit agency ("ECA") supported financing services to its corporate clients.

 

Citi serves Korean community as a good corporate citizen

• Under the partnership with reliable NGOs, universities and research centers, Citibank Korea has focused its corporate citizenship efforts in the following four areas:

• Financial Education and Youth Education:

• • ThinkMoney program through partnership with YWCA since 2006

  • Success program through partnership with YWCA since 2005

  • Next generation financial talent development program through partnership with KAIST in 2008 and Korea Institute of Finance in 2009

• Woman and Diversity:

• • Global Financial Academy through partnership with Ewha Women’s Univ. since 2001

  • Korea Women Leader Award through partnership with YWCA since 2003

  • Women Entrepreneur Competitiveness Strengthening Program through partnership with KOSBI since 2008

  • Low-income Breast Cancer Patient Support through partnership with Korea Breast Cancer Foundation since 2008

• Building Communities:

• • Habitat for Humanity Campaign through partnership with Habitat for Humanity Korea since 1998

  • Micro-credit support through partnership with JoyfulUnion since 1999

  • NGO Internship Program through partnership with KyongHee University since 2007

  • Joyful Needle Workers Workplace through partnership with Sudagongbang since 2008

  • Poor children and neglected class care Program through partnership with GoodNeighbors since 2006

  • Citi Journalistic Excellence Award Program since 1993

• Environment/Volunteerism:

• • Green Citi Our Community Forest Campaign through partnership with Seoul Green Trust since 2008

  • Beautiful Saturday Bazaar through partnership with Beautiful Store since 2008

  • Global Community Day Volunteerism participated by several thousand of Citi employees on a Saturday in autumn season since 2006