Citibank 2005 Annual Report Download - page 17

Following major storms, the roads
leading to Port Fourchon, Louisiana, a
major oil and gas port supplying up to
18 percent of U.S. demand, are often
impassable. Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita caused massive damage to the
port and connecting roads, creating a
profound impact on the U.S. economy
as energy prices soared. Citigroup’s
industry-leading U.S. Municipals team
worked with local governments and
agencies, energy companies, rating
agencies, municipal bond insurers, and
investors to fi nance the port’s $240
million project to replace and repair
key infrastructure.
“Partnering with Citigroup gave us a
comfort level that wasn’t present with
any other fi rm,” said Port Director
Ted Falgout.
During 2005, we created a partnership
with the World Food Program (WFP),
the United Nations disaster relief arm,
to leverage our global footprint, local
relationships, and ability to respond
quickly in emergencies to help the
WFP on an ongoing basis. This part-
nership builds on the assistance we
provided the WFP during 2004’s
tsunami, when we helped it establish
a base of operations in Bangkok.
EXPANDING DISTRIBUTION
In the United States, we established
the National Corporate Bank and the
National Investment Bank to serve
a broader range of corporate clients.
We acquired Unisen to build our fund
services and transfer agency business,
and we were awarded the Separately
Managed Account industry’s largest out-
sourcing assignment to date from Lazard
Asset Management. Our commitment
to quality management was evident in
Malaysia, where our Trade Services busi-
ness enabled Citigroup to become the
fi rst fi nancial institution to win the pres-
tigious Prime Minister’s Quality Award.
To better serve our clients, we made
strategic investments of minority own-
ership stakes in the Philadelphia and
Boston Stock Exchanges. We enhanced
our equity market technology capa-
bilities, purchasing an electronic
communications network to increase
execution fl exibility, provide alterna-
tive liquidity pools, and contribute to
overall market effi ciency. And with the
evolution of fi xed income products,
we repositioned Structured Corporate
Finance and integrated our Loans and
Leveraged Finance teams.
Our new commodities trading hub in
Houston, Texas—working with teams
in London, New York, and Singapore—
offers creative solutions to clients trading
natural gas, crude oil, metals, and power.
And in India, we enjoyed signifi cant
growth in our equities business.
OUR PEOPLE
Throughout 2005, we continued to
focus on people, hiring a number of
very experienced bankers and thought
leaders and providing additional career
development for our existing teams. We
are immensely proud of our people and
their commitment to developing the
best ideas, delivering the highest-quality
work, and always acting in our clients’
best interests.
15 | Citigroup 2005
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