Citi Names New Head of Citicorp EMEA Consumer Business

Bank Plans Further Push into Emerging Markets

09/04/2010 — LONDON — (BUSINESS WIRE)

Citi (NYSE:C) has hired Marc Luet as head of Citicorp Consumer in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), where he will be responsible for further expanding the bank’s leading presence in emerging markets.

Luet has more than 20 years of retail and credit card experience, including many years in the Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region (CEEMEA), which encompassed 80 countries. He joins Citi from Visa, where he was President of CEMEA and a member of the company’s Operating Committee.

“Marc’s expertise in the region will prove invaluable as we position ourselves against some of the fastest growing consumer banking markets in the world,” said Alberto Verme, Joint CEO of Citi EMEA. “The emerging market consumer banking business will be one of our key growth areas in this region for many years to come.”

Citi has a valuable consumer franchise in the region. It is present in 10 CEEME countries, has more than 1.5 million retail bank clients and 2.5 million credit card accounts. The bank’s credit card market share exceeds 10% in five countries.

Still, CEEME is an extraordinary growth opportunity given the rapidly expanding middle and upper classes, the relatively low consumer leverage and the accelerating process of urbanization. The potential wallet share in CEEME is US$109 billion and growing at 10%, according to McKinsey & Co., the consultancy.

Citi’s consumer business is particularly focused on Turkey, Poland, Russia and the Middle East, which are expected to account for 90% of the revenue growth in the region.

“Citi’s consumer and wealth management franchise is uniquely positioned in the region’s developing markets, where we provide premium banking services and credit cards to the rapidly growing base of affluent and mass-affluent customers,” said Bill Mills, Joint CEO of Citi EMEA. “Marc is the ideal candidate to position us against this growing customer base.”

Luet has previous experience at Citi, having been CEO of Citibank Belgium and CEO of the retail business for Citibank Hungary before departing in 2002. Before joining Visa, he was CEO of Consumer Finance and Retail International at Fortis Group.

“I am excited by the challenge of leading Citi’s consumer banking, credit card and wealth management franchises in the region,” said Luet. “The business is well positioned to benefit from increased demand for premium banking services, where Citi offers customers access to top-tier investments, offshore banking, multi-currency deposits and best-in-class service, including dedicated relationship managers.”

The expansion plans for the consumer business are aligned with the broader strategic direction of the bank, which focuses on delivering Citi’s unparalleled geographic reach and emerging markets expertise to sophisticated, urban consumers.

Citi’s global consumer business generated nearly US$2 billion of net income in 2009, with more than 50% of revenues and 80% of net income coming from outside of North America. The international consumer segment produced more than US$15 billion of revenues and US$1.5 billion of net income, with approximately 90% of revenues coming from emerging markets.

Citi is a top-three provider of credit cards in 20 countries and has a 10% market share in emerging markets.

Citigroup Citigroup, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

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CONTACT:

CitigroupJeff FrenchTel: +44 (0) 207 500 8304

KEYWORDS:   Turkey  United Kingdom  Europe  Poland  Russia  Middle East

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Professional Services  Banking  Finance  Human Resources

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