Citibank Named Global Finance's Best Consumer Internet Bank in the UAE

Dubai – Global Finance magazine today named Citibank “Best Consumer Internet Bank" in the UAE as part of Global Finance’s “World’s Best Internet Banks” competition in Middle East and Africa.

Winning banks were selected based on the following criteria: strength of strategy for attracting and servicing online customers, success in getting clients to use web offerings, growth of online customers, breadth of product offerings, evidence of tangible benefits gained from Internet initiatives, and web site design and functionality.

“We win when our clients win, and our commitment, first and foremost, is to provide them with best-in-class services and solutions,” said Sanjoy Sen, Citibank’s Consumer Bank Head- Middle East Region. "We are thrilled to win this award this year, and attribute our success to being the trusted bank of choice to financial institutions, corporations and public sector entities around the world."

Citibank UAE’s online banking channel has witnessed a double-digit growth over the past two years on all key performance indicators, which led to this recognition.

Mohammed Al-Tajer, Cluster Marketing Head for the Middle East & Africa Global Consumer Group, said, "This prestigious accolade was made possible through the concerted efforts of Citibank UAE's teams, including e-Business, Technology, Citiphone, Customer Service and Marketing Services."

For decades, Citi has been at the forefront of developing Web-based tools and technology to meet clients’ growing demands to bank on the go wherever they are and at anytime of the day. "This would only happen if our customers have liked our web solutions and gave it their vote of confidence,” added Al-Tajer.

Citi has been in the Middle East for nearly 50 years and currently offers consumer-banking services in the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

In the UAE alone, Citibank, the consumer banking arm of Citi, has had a presence for the past 45 years and is expanding its major operations within the country. The bank is currently a major player in the UAE’s credit card market and a leading provider of banking, Wealth Management and Consumer credit services.

CITI WINS FOUR EUROMONEY AWARDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

COVERING M&A ACTIVITIES IN UAE, EGYPT, SAUDI ARABIA AS WELL AS ENTIRE MIDDLE EAST

In recognition of its continuing success in building its Middle East advisory business, Euromoney Magazine awarded four Middle East Merger & Acquisition (M&A) awards to Citi in 2008. Awards won by Citi were as follows:

• Best M&A House in The Middle East
• Best M&A House in the UAE
• Best M&A House in Saudi Arabia
• Best M&A House in Egypt.

Commenting on the awards, Mohammed Al-Shroogi, Citi Managing Director for the Middle East and Chief Executive Officer for the UAE, said: "The Awards by Euromoney speak volumes for our progress in the past few years. With a full team of professionals on the ground covering the entire region, we are able to customize financial solutions that meet the complex needs of our sophisticated clients, from ground breaking acquisitions to entering the international capital markets."

According to THOMSON statistics, the industry standard in financial transactions information, Citi executed the region’s top IPO deals during the past few years with a combined transaction volume exceeding USD 34 billion.

"Our M&A activities as well as IPO transactions add strongly to our footprint in the Middle East. We are committed to provide a holistic financial and investment solution to our clients in the region and determined to be their one-stop banker locally as well as globally," continued Al-Shroogi.

Citi has been present in the Arab World for nearly fifty years and continues to view the region as critical to its global franchise. It is currently present in ten Arab countries including Egypt, UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.

Citi UAE & Citi Egypt Win World's Best Internet Bank Awards Issued by Global Finance

Citibank U.A.E has won an award in the first round of Global Finance magazine’s awards for the "World's Best Internet Bank 2006” in the Middle East and Africa Region in the category of:

• “Best Consumer Internet Bank & Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Bank”

Global Finance is an international finance magazine with a circulation in over 158 countries. The magazine covers a wide spectrum of subjects including corporate financing, capital markets, monetary policies, banking operations and risk management.
 
“Winning banks were selected based on the following criteria: strength of strategy for attracting and servicing online customers, success in getting clients to use web offerings, growth of online customers, breadth of product offerings, evidence of tangible benefits gained from internet initiatives and web site design and functionality,” according to Global Finance.
 
Citi has been at the forefront of developing Internet-based delivery capabilities for both retail customers (Citibank Online) and corporate clients (CitiDirect) in the Middle East, in addition to other B2B e-commerce initiatives that provide clients with full procurement solutions. By using Citibank Online (CBOL), customers can perform a variety of regular banking transactions, such as checking balances or downloading account activity statements. Moreover, customers can transfer funds worldwide, pay utility bills, redeem reward points, order cheque books or subscribe to a number of value added services, round-the-clock and, anywhere in the world.