Progress informed by the past, and inspired by the future

    • Citi has built a
      centuries-spanning
      business on local and international partnership.

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    • Fueling the global economy:
      the supertanker

      In 1948 as the world's economy emerged from the war, demand for fuel oil skyrocketed. Moving oil was slow and expensive, so Aristotle Onassis wanted to double the capacity of tankers. He turned to Citi to finance the world's first supertanker. Today these supertankers are moving more resources — and fueling the global economy — all around the world.

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      interactive timeline

    • A new bank for New York supports
      foreign trade

      The City Bank of New York was formed on June 16th, 1812, after overcoming many obstacles and political maneuverings. Led by Samuel Osgood, a far-sighted elder statesman who believed in expanding trade across borders, the bank let New York compete with Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia for the nation's business.

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    • 608,953 hours were given to volunteer causes in 2010 by Citi

    • Citi plays a key role in
      making urban centers
      more accessible and
      habitable.

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    • Conquering Distance and the Seasons:
      Cargo Containers

      Generations of us forget that fruits and vegetables have natural growing seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere, Valentine's Day roses are given in February — made possible by efficient transportation of cargo across land and sea. Malcolm McLean, a trucking entrepreneur, envisioned installing racks to anchor truck trailers on cargo ships. Citi teamed up with him to finance the project, which ultimately led to the invention of the cargo container.

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      interactive timeline

    • Elevating commerce and travel with
      the first passenger jet

      Making the world smaller is no easy task. But in the 1940s, Citi managed to help do just that – while revolutionizing lending valuation. By considering income-generating potential as a means for credit, Citi was enabled to underwrite for advances like the first passenger jet, forever changing how the world travels.

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    • 160 countries around the world are connected by Citi

    • Citi creates economic
      value through
      financial inclusion.

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    • Supporting small business: Communities at Work Fund

      There's a new reason to be hopeful in low-income communities across America. Thanks to Citi's 2010 $200 million investment in the Communities at Work Fund, small businesses are getting loans, new community centers are being developed, and housing units are being renovated. All helping to make the big picture even better for communities around the country.

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    • Helping nations help themselves:
      the Marshall Plan

      With over 20 percent of the world's GDP, today's Europe is a pillar of the global economy. But in the aftermath of the Second World War, it was devastated. Citi played an important role in rebuilding it through the Marshall Plan by arranging commercial letters of credit for shipments to countries receiving aid.

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    • $67.9M in financial grants has been delivered by Citi to low-income communities

    • Citi is committed to
      building more
      connected and
      sustainable cities.

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    • Pioneering the future of urban infrastructure: Citi for CitiesSM

      The Citi for CitiesSM initiative is our commitment to help create the urban center of the future, with modernized infrastructure, job creation and enhanced liveability. By partnering with city administrators and applying expertise from around the world to urban ecosystems, we can put the best of Citi to work in your city.

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    • A man, a plan, a shortcut:
      the Panama Canal

      One of the greatest engineering feats in human history, the Panama Canal saves 15,000 ships a year an 8,000 mile detour. At the request of President Theodore Roosevelt, Citi played a central part in financing the canal — encouraging international trade and expanding the global economy.

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    • 1866 Citi funded the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company, which laid the first transatlantic Cable

    • Citi pioneers
      access to money.

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    • The future of banking is in your pocket: Google WalletTM

      In 2011, Citi teamed up with Google and MasterCard PayPass® to pioneer Google Wallet. Google Wallet stores your Citi MasterCard information so you can simply tap your phone wherever PayPass is accepted. It's a step forward in making our vision for mobile payments a reality and part of our drive to become the world's digital bank.

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    • Banking on your schedule:
      the ATM

      Citi recognized people's growing need to bank outside traditional banking hours, and in 1977 pioneered its first ATM in Queens, N.Y. Today, 90% of the world's population is within a 15-minute walk of an ATM, and "banker's hours" is an archaic term. Citi operates over 26,000 ATMs around the world.

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    • 98% of all worldwide financial transactions pass through Global Transaction Services

    • Citi's global network
      connects people
      and commerce
      across the world.

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    • Partnering to reshape the future of banking in Africa

      Empowering Africans with financial services is a critical step in the continent's development. That's why Citi is working to improve access to banking across Africa. So far, over 100 million people have benefited from partnerships with telecommunications providers. And, we've helped Africa-based NGOs use mobile payment technology for cash-disbursement.

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    • Telegraphing the future of instant communication: Transatlantic Cable

      Three weeks. That's how long it took to deliver a message from New York to London in 1865, assuming there was smooth sailing. That changed a year later with the laying of the Transatlantic Cable, a Citi-funded venture that meant messages could be transmitted between continents in minutes. And what once required crossing an ocean now only took a few keystrokes.

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    • 12M invested by Citi in mobile banking initiatives in Africa

    • Citi supports, helps and
      celebrates innovation
      around the world.

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    • Consumer banking gets smarter

      The future is here with Citi Smart Banking. It's an integrated experience with workstation access to online banking. Customers can see market information on wall displays and even get customer service via video chat. Citi believes that, in the future, successful banks provide customized value to clients in the simplest way. So that's exactly what we created.

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    • Innovating across the globe and beyond it: the Space Shuttle

      People's exploration into space has awed and inspired for generations. Citi is a lead lender to a joint venture between Citi and the operators of the shuttle launch. It is also the lead arranger to the partnership responsible for the heavy-lift launch vehicles.

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    • Financial Times/Ingenity Awards. Recognizing individuals whose ideas and solutions are fueling global progressLearn more

    • Citi pioneers new
      ways to bank.

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    • Setting new standards for digital banking

      These days, the word "modern" is synonymous with "mobile" — people are using tablets and devices more than ever before. That's why Citi is creating new ways to engage with our customers while on-the-go. Citibank's mobile app offers an engaging mobile banking experience. And the Citi® News App offers investor information right at your fingertips.

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    • Offering interest-bearing savings
      accounts to everyone

      Banking was once reserved for the wealthy — the rest of us had mattresses. But to attract new customers, Citi pioneered the concept of paying interest on every saving account, even small ones. In 1921, you could earn compounded interest on balances as small as $5. This encouraged everyone, no matter how modest their income, to open savings accounts.

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    • Citi explores new ways
      to serve customers.

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    • Exploring next-generation computing: Citi and Watson Technologies

      At Citi, we know that aiming to be the world's leading digital bank means staying ahead of the curve. That's why we've entered into an agreement with IBM to explore how Watson technologies can help advance customer interactions. By using the deep content analysis and learning capabilities found in IBM Watson, we're on the road to simplified banking services – and more intuitive branch experiences.

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    • Inventing the modern multinational enterprise: Foreign Exchange Network

      In the 1890s, most Chinese citizens were lighting their homes with kerosene lamps. John Rockefeller saw an opportunity to bring oil to foreign shores, but moving money between countries was difficult. Citi created a foreign exchange department, and Rockefeller opened an office in Shanghai. Soon, Citi clients could move money to any industrialized city in 24 hours.

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    • 5% of the world lived in cities a century ago. Today, its 50%

    • Citi helps build the
      foundation for
      a global network.

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    • Cutting-edge institutional servicing: the Innovation Lab in Singapore

      In Asia Pacific, Citi Transaction Services has innovated a new way to engage with institutional clients: the new Citi Innovation Lab. It uses new web, mobile, supply chain and analytics technologies for a fully interactive globally linked experience. The result? Solutions that may have taken weeks are now being completed in a matter of days or hours.

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    • Driving international commerce: Citi Transaction Services

      CTS is known as the lifeblood of global commerce — it manages financial transactions seamlessly across 96+ countries around the world, 365 days a year. Through CTS, Citi enables 93 percent of Fortune 500 companies to move $3 trillion a day throughout the world — quickly, seamlessly and reliably.

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    • 223 gigawatt hours of green electricity were purchased by Citi in 2010

    • Citi helps communities
      and peacekeepers stay
      focused on the future.

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    • Finding new and innovative
      investments: Microfinance

      Building on Citi's 40-year history of philanthropic and technical support, Citi Microfinance focuses on developing commercial relationships with microfinance institutions, networks and investors around the globe. The goal? To expand access to financial services for the underbanked and build sustainable economies across the world.

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      more video

    • Enabling peace

      Peacekeepers frequently find themselves serving in very unsettled, and sometimes remote, locations. These places are often without banking services, and the difficulty of delivering payroll and vendor payments to such areas can impede the peacekeepers' work in bringing stability. Using our global financial network, Citi has been able to provide payment services in many challenging situations.

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    • $67M total 2010 Foundation giving

    • Citi is committed to
      environmental
      sustainability across
      operations.

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    • Environmental footprint:
      Our green goals

      These days, we're all doing what we can to be a little bit greener. At Citi, we also see environmental sustainability as good business practice. That's why we're reducing our total environmental footprint — energy use, fuel consumption, water use and waste — across operations. Because we believe that the city of the future should be a greener place for everyone.

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    • Building sustainable infrastructure: Climate Change Initiative

      Powering the world's cities was once a fairly dirty task. But at Citi, our vision of the future is clean and green. In 2007 Citi set a goal to direct $50 billion over 10 years to activities that mitigate climate change. So far, we've invested in wind-energy initiatives and solar power systems, reducing electricity use and promoting clean technology.

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    • 1.65M families benefitted from Citi-funded programs over the past decade

    • Citi sponsors the 2012
      Olympic & Paralympic
      Team in London.

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    • Olympic Team

    • We're proud

      to sponsor and cheer for America's athletes at this year's Olympics games.

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    • Raise The Flag:
      The celebrations begin.

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    • We celebrate

      our involvement with the Olympics with a flag-raising event to mark the "year-out" milestone.

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    • The Kick-Off:
      Citi Team USA starts
      flag tour in Sioux Falls.

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    • The first stop

      of the 'Citi Team USA Flag Tour' is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with U.S. Olympians Chellsie Memmel and Derek Miles.

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    • The Next Stop:
      Citi Team USA goes
      to Tucson.

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    • The celebration continues

      as the USA Flag Tour reaches Tucson, Arizona with U.S. Olympians Bernard Lagat and Jillian Camarena-Williams.

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    • Moving On:
      The flag travels to
      Irving, Texas.

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    • The Citi Team

      reaches its next destination with U.S. Olympian Jeremy Wariner and Paralympian Gina McWilliams.

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    • Our Next Destination:
      Citi Team USA reaches
      Jacksonville.

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    • We raise our Team Flag

      with the help of U.S. Olympic Hopeful Kellie Wells and Paralympian Carlos Leon in Jacksonville, Florida.

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