NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Citi Foundation announced today that it will provide $15 million to support COVID-19 related relief activities globally. It will be allocated as follows:
- $5 million will be directed to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
- $5 million will be directed to No Kid Hungry to support emergency Food Distribution Programs in the U.S.
- $5 million will be directed to additional international, country-specific efforts in places that are severely impacted. In the coming weeks, the Citi Foundation will also be working to identify additional opportunities to support longer-term recovery efforts.
Citi CEO Michael Corbat said, “These funds are just a first step in helping to support those immediately impacted by this crisis, including healthcare workers on the frontline and the foodbanks in the U.S. that are feeding our young people. This unprecedented situation demands that we continue to respond thoughtfully and decisively using the breadth of our philanthropic efforts and our core business activities.”
The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund was established by the UN Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation at the request of the World Health Organization. Contributions will go towards rapidly detecting cases, stopping transmission of the virus and caring for those affected. Funds donated by the Citi Foundation will join this collective effort to provide protective equipment for frontline health workers, equip diagnostic laboratories, improve surveillance and data collection, establish and maintain intensive care units and take other critical steps to scale up the urgent public health response to the pandemic around the world.
The work that No Kid Hungry does to provide meals to kids in need has become even more pressing during school closures. Vulnerable kids will miss more than an estimated 101 million meals this week alone. Foundation funding will include support to scale No Kid Hungry’s work to provide emergency grants, divert resources to help the hardest-hit communities and make sure families know how to find meals while schools are closed.
In addition to Foundation support, Citi will directly match donations up to $2 million from the general public to No Kid Hungry. Visit www.nokidhungry.org/citi or text CITI to 877-877 to donate today.
In addition to these philanthropic efforts, Citi is offering assistance to impacted customers in the U.S. through a range of measures, including fee waivers for Citibank customers, hardship programs, and additional small business support, such as extended banker availability. Citibank's individual and Small Business customers impacted by COVID-19 may be eligible for the following assistance, effective Monday, March 9, 2020 for an initial thirty days:
- Retail Bank: Fee waivers on monthly service fees; waived penalties for early CD withdrawal.
- Small Business: Fee waivers on monthly service fees and remote deposit capture; waived penalties for early CD withdrawal; Bankers available after hours and on weekends for support.
Citi also is working diligently to help institutional clients navigate volatile markets and manage their business needs. Citi has leveraged its strong capital and liquidity position, as well as the measures the Fed has suggested banks utilize, to support the financial markets and the flow of credit to businesses. Citi’s underwriting teams are executing transactions in the capital markets, advisory teams are providing financing and Citi is creating new receivables services for clients to improve supply chain transparency, and doing critical operations work on passports. Citi has seamlessly continued loan bookings and account openings for commercial clients, and have been acting swiftly to help small business clients that are experiencing hardship, responding quickly to any client with a credit facility that needs to defer payments to assist them to manage their business during this difficult period.
Citi
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. 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.
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The Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach deploys the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation.
