Citibank 2006 Annual Report Download - page 20

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For more than 40 years, Citi has played an
important role in the microfi nance move-
ment. This commitment has been signifi cantly
strengthened in recent years, highlighted by
our transaction for BRAC.
In a landmark deal, the Citi Microfi nance Group, Citi in
Bangladesh, and other partners, closed on the world’s fi rst
AAA-rated local currency microcredit securitization for
BRAC—the world’s largest national antipoverty, nongov-
ernmental organization serving more than fi ve million
mostly female members in Bangladesh.
A signifi cant deal for the microfi nance industry, it gives
BRAC access to $180 million of fi nancing over six years,
enabling it to provide more fi nancing to more micro-
entrepreneurs than ever before.
“We brought the power and capabilities of high fi nance to
some 1.2 million poor households,” said Shams Zaman,
Head of Structured Finance, Corporate Banking, in
Bangladesh. “What an amazing feeling it is to do a busi-
ness transaction like this and, at the same time, support
hundreds of thousands of people who most need access
to fi nancing.”
Considered one of the world’s largest microcredit fi nanc-
ings and among the most innovative, the deal demonstrated
how Citi can leverage its local presence to deliver
world-class solutions, ultimately providing funding that
would have cost BRAC much more had it borrowed
commercially in Bangladesh.
The BRAC deal again showed the power of partnership
within Citi. Citi Bangladesh led the transaction working
locally with BRAC, the regulators, and local partners.
Citi’s Microfi nance Group provided fi nancing expertise,
while our Global Consumer business contributed local
due diligence—assessing BRAC’s microloan credit
policies, processes, reporting, and information systems.
Finally, our Securitization Group provided structuring
expertise and its Export Finance Group worked closely
with global institutional partners and investors, FMO
(Netherlands), and KfW (Germany) to conclude the
transaction.
At a time when the role of microfi nance in promoting
global peace and prosperity has been recognized by
the Nobel Foundation, deals like BRAC are the wave of
the future.
Shams: “BRAC will be replicated many times over, so
more microentrepreneurs can fi nally realize their dreams.”