BWI: Citibank India Reports Earnings for the Year Ended March 31, 2009

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Citi
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 12:42 PM IST (07:12 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy; Business: Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Stock exchanges
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Citibank India Reports Earnings for the Year Ended March 31, 2009


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Wednesday, June 24, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Citibank India branch announced today it has reported total revenues of Rs.10,423 crores for the year ended March 31, 2009, representing a 24% increase from Rs.8,410 crores for the same period last year. The growth in revenues was attributable both to higher interest income as well as significant growth in fee and trading income. At March 31, 2009, the balance sheet grew by 26% from Rs.83,851 crores to Rs.105,264 crores, reflecting continuing growth in customer lending activities.

Net profit after tax was Rs.2,173 crores for the period, representing a 20% increase from Rs.1,804 crores in the same period of last year. Despite industry-wide challenges in unsecured consumer credit impacting profitability of the Retail Banking segment, the increase in net income reflected strong growth in Corporate/Commercial Banking and Treasury.

In addition to Citibank with 40 branches in 28 locations in India, Citi operates several other legal vehicles, including mainly two large non-bank finance companies, two brokerage companies and two other companies undertaking capital markets activities. All of these vehicles remained profitable during the year, with the exception of Citifinancial Consumer Finance India Limited, which was impacted by the challenges of deterioration in unsecured credit quality that affected the entire industry and, Citi Wealth Advisors Private Limited which is yet to reach full scale of operations.

Mark T. Robinson, CEO, Citi South Asia, said: "Notwithstanding the slowdown in the local economic environment arising from unprecedented turmoil in global markets, the strong performance of Citibank India branch underscores our strengths built up over 107 years operating in India. During the year we assisted many of our corporate customers to raise capital in the local market and, by using our global product expertise, to access international capital markets. Recognising the credit quality challenges we faced in our unsecured consumer loan portfolio, we were amongst the first in the industry to take corrective action and are pleased with our progress. Having spent 6 months in the country, I am impressed with the diversity and expanse of our franchise and excited by the possibility of developing it further in line with local market needs."

The Citi India franchise continued its track record of innovation and market-leading transactions during the year:

-- Citi participated in several landmark deals, including the merger between Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Industries, the largest in Indian corporate history.

-- Citi arranged the commercial paper issuance by ONGC Videsh in what was the largest local currency commercial paper transaction to date.

-- Citi launched the country's first transit credit card, the Delhi Metro Citibank Card, which won the "Innovation in Service" OSCARD 2008 award.

-- Citi launched the Protect & Grow investment product which was the first such product in India to combine the safety of a fixed deposit with the potential for growth.

In a nationwide survey of customers conducted by the Economic Times' Brand Equity, Citibank India was voted Best Foreign Bank Brand. Citibank India also won the Dun & Bradstreet and BusinessWorld awards for Best Foreign Bank in India. Euromoney, FinanceAsia and The Asset publications presented Citi with Best Investment Bank and Best Foreign Investment Bank in India awards. Citi Research was ranked #1 by Institutional Investor.

Citi India's Corporate Citizenship program includes its Global Community Day, when more than 1,600 employees rolled up their sleeves to volunteer. Citi also celebrated its fifth annual Citi Microentrepreneur Awards in Delhi, which honoured 10 self-made entrepreneurs that have empowered their communities through microfinance.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through its two operating units, 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, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.


CONTACT DETAILS
Godwin Chellam, Citi, +91 (022) 4001 5800, godwin.chellam@citi.com
Indu Anand, Citi, +91 (0124) 418 6766, indu.anand@citi.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst, STOCK EXCHANGES

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