VZCZCXRO2036
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1204/01 1671854
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161854Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5790
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 7210
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 2293
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 4978

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001204 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EB/CBA FOR SMITH-NISSLEY 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON BEXP ELAB ETRD BR
SUBJECT: AMEMBASSY BRASILIA NOMINATES CITIGROUP BRAZIL FOR THE 
SECRETARY'S CORPORATE EXCELLENCE AWARD (MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE 
 
 
SIPDIS 
CATEGORY) 
 
¶1.  (U)  Based upon its innovative approach to development and 
export, Charge d'Affaires nominates the U.S. multinational firm 
Citigroup Brasil for the Secretary's 2006 Corporate Excellence 
Award. 
 
¶2. (U)  Begin Text of Award Nomination 
 
With over 220,000 checking accounts, US$ 1.5 billion in net equity, 
US$ 12 billion in total assets and over 4,000 employees in the 
country, Citigroup is building a history in the Brazilian market 
that is more and more based on ethics, financial strength and 
credibility.  Present in Brazil since 1915, Citigroup is a market 
leader within the financial industry.  Its innovations in corporate 
banking have helped its customers expand and prosper.  Committed to 
corporate citizenship, Citigroup actively works with NGOs such as 
The Nature Conservancy, the Rotary Club, Junior Achievement, and 
Habitat for Humanity on social responsibility projects involving 
education, the environment, and community development. Its exemplary 
efforts to promote employment among the disadvantaged are 
unparalleled among multinationals here.  Finally, its micro-credit 
program has given a badly-needed boost to Brazil's growing small and 
medium-sized enterprises. 
 
Good Corporate Citizenship. 
 
Citigroup sponsors a wealth of social responsibility projects, in 
such diverse fields as education, the environment, and community 
development.  Through its grant dollars and its business and 
employee volunteers, it focuses on areas that offer the greatest 
opportunity to build economically strong, vibrant and 
self-sustaining communities. 
 
--  The CitiEsperanca Association was created by Citigroup 
employees, who, in addition to financial support, dedicate their 
personal time and knowledge to a variety of educational programs. 
To date, CitiEsperanca (which literally translates to, "Citi -Hope") 
has invested over US$500,000 in social projects and assistance 
campaigns, benefiting more than 10,000 people. 
--  In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, it supports programs 
to conserve and protect Brazil's Araucaria forest.  Inter alia, this 
project seeks to restore 2,500 acres of woodlands, promote 
reforestation, improve the economic well-being of small landholders 
and engage local communities in seedling production 
--  Working with E+CO, Citigroup is measuring the environmental and 
financial impact of clean energy enterprises and facilitating 
finance under the small-scale energy framework of the Clean 
Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. 
--  Citigroup supports a multifunctional technical course which 
teaches life-skills (computers, English, financial education, 
networking, etc.) to young men aged 10-18 in social risk situations. 
 In addition, the bank supports the "Educating the Adolescent for 
Tomorrow" project, whereby 56 high school students 16 years and 
older attend classes in Portuguese, math, computers, and arts while 
gain working experience in entry-level jobs. 
--  In conjunction with the Ayrton Senna Institute, the bank 
participates in the Champion Circuit program, which seeks to foster 
responsibility within communities and train teachers and education 
professionals to better use managerial information.  When this 
project is complete, over 10,965 students in low-income cities will 
have benefited. 
--  In partnership with the Rotary Club, Citigroup participates in 
the Paulista Professionalization Institute, which prepares public 
school students from Sao Paulo's central region for their first job 
experience.  Launched in June 2005, 247 youngsters have benefited 
from this project and 35 have already entered the job market. 
--  Since 1998, Citigroup, working with Junior Achievement, has been 
a part of the Banks in Action program.  Through a business 
simulator, this effort allows participants to operate a bank under 
competitive conditions so that they may better understand the 
concepts of administration, decisionmaking, and financial lending. 
The program helps to develop entrepreneurial spirit in high school 
students by stimulating personal development and providing 
youngsters a clear vision of the business world. 
--  Since 1995, Citigroup employees have done volunteer work with 
the ABRINQ Foundation Living Library, which introduces youth to the 
benefits of reading. 
--  Finally, in the states of Sao Paulo and Pernambuco, Citigroup 
works with Habitat for Humanity to provide improve housing for the 
poor and expand financial/credit literacy. 
 
 
Contribution to the Overall Growth and Development of the Local 
Economy. 
 
Through its pioneering efforts in micro-credit, Citigroup has 
contributed greatly to local economic development.  The bank's 
US$487,000 grant to the ABRINQ Foundation is providing both credit 
 
BRASILIA 00001204  002 OF 002 
 
 
and training so that 720 young adults can open their own business. 
The bank supports a similar effort with Habitat for Humanity.  And 
for the past 2 years, Citigroup has sponsored a 
Micro-entrepreneurship Award to raise awareness about microfinance 
and publicize best practices. 
 
Development of Competitive and Innovative Activities with Measurable 
Results. 
 
Within the Brazilian financial industry, Citigroup has been a leader 
in embracing innovation.  On the corporate banking and investment 
side, Citigroup was the first bank in Brazil to deal in commodity 
derivatives, thereby allowing its clients to avoid having to remit 
margins outside of the country (as is usually required by offshore 
brokers).  In addition, its development of Balance-Sheet hedges 
enabled customers to offset the currency exposures within their 
various corporate entities, thus hedging risks at minimum cost.  On 
the consumer banking side, Citibank has paved the way in offering 
discrete groups of customers consortium (i.e., self-financing) 
options. 
 
 
Exemplary Employment Practices. 
 
In 2005, the respected Brazilian business magazine Exame named 
Citigroup Brazil as:  1)  "One of the Best Companies to Work for," 
2) "One of the Three Best Banks to Work for," and 3) "One of the 
Best Companies for Women to Work for."  The bank's efforts to 
provide employment to the disadvantaged highlight its commitment to 
a fair and open workplace.  Collaborating with a historically-black 
university in Sao Paulo's working class east side, it is offering 
internships to 21 Afro-Brazilian students to both develop their 
career prospects and broaden the bank's employee base.  For three 
years, these interns will have the opportunity to deepen their 
knowledge of financial concepts and learn more about products and 
processes.  The university will have access to supervisors' 
evaluations and will link them to student grades. The hiring cycle 
has already begun. 
 
In addition, Citigroup also partners with the Brazilian government 
and local industry associations in developing the "Young Apprentice" 
program to benefit young students from public high schools.  As the 
weak public school system in Brazil means that these students often 
are unable to pursue career-enhancing job prospects, Citigroup 
recruits and trains these graduates for entry-level positions. 
 
 
 
End Text of Award Nomination 
 
Chicola