Citi Commits Support Facility for Citi-Advised SIVs.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Citi announced today that it has committed to provide a support facility that will resolve uncertainties regarding senior debt repayment currently facing the Citi-advised Structured Investment Vehicles ("SIVs"). This action is a response to the recently announced ratings review for possible downgrade by Moody's and S&P of the outstanding senior debt of the SIVs, and the continued reduction of liquidity in the SIV SIV simian immunodeficiency virus. related asset-backed commercial paper and medium-term note Medium-term note (MTN) A corporate debt instrument that is continuously offered to investors over a period of time by an agent of the issuer. Investors can select from maturity bands of: 9 months to 1 year, more than 1 year to 18 months, more than 18 months to 2 years, etc. markets. These markets are the traditional funding sources for the SIVs. Citi's actions today are designed to support the current ratings of the SIVs' senior debt and to allow the SIVs to continue to pursue their current orderly asset reduction plan. As a result of this commitment, Citi will consolidate the SIVs' assets and liabilities onto its balance sheet under applicable accounting rules. Several key factors further contributed to Citi's decision to make this commitment: * The SIVs continue to successfully pursue alternative funding strategies, primarily asset reductions, to meet maturing debt obligations. The SIV assets (net of cash and cash equivalents) have been reduced from $87 billion in August 2007 to $49 billion currently, while maintaining the overall high credit quality of the portfolio. Citi expects orderly asset reductions will be sufficient to meet liquidity requirements through the end of 2008, which currently total $35 billion. Consequently, Citi expects little or no funding requirement from the facility. * As assets continue to be sold, Citi's risk exposure, and the capital ratio impact from consolidation, will be reduced accordingly. * Given the high credit quality of the SIV assets, Citi's credit exposure under its commitment is substantially limited. Approximately 54% of the SIV assets are rated triple-A and 43% double-A by Moody's, with no direct exposure to sub-prime assets and immaterial indirect sub-prime exposure of $51 million. In addition, the junior notes, which have a current market value of $2.5 billion, are in the first loss position. * Taking into account this commitment, Citi still expects to return to its targeted capital ratios by the end of the second quarter of 2008. Based on September 30, 2007 capital ratio disclosures and applying the current asset levels in the SIVs, the estimated impact of this action would have been approximately 16 basis point decline in the Tier 1 capital Tier 1 Capital A term used to describe the capital adequacy of a bank. Tier I capital is core capital, this includes equity capital and disclosed reserves. Notes: Equity capital includes instruments that can't be redeemed at the option of the holder. ratio and approximately 12 basis point decline in the TCE/RWMA ratio. "Our team has made great progress managing the SIVs in a very difficult environment. After considering a full range of funding options, this commitment is the best outcome for Citi and the SIVs," said Vikram Pandit Vikram Pandit received an MS degree in 1977 and a BS degree in electrical engineering in 1976 from Columbia. He also earned a PhD in Finance from Columbia University in 1986. , Citi's Chief Executive Officer. The terms of this committed facility Committed Facility A credit facility whereby terms and conditions are clearly defined by the lending institution and imposed upon the borrowing company. Notes: In committed facilities, the borrowing companies must meet specific requirements set forth by the lending will be finalized in early 2008 and will reflect market terms. The commitment is independent of the "Master Liquidity Enhancement Conduit On October 15, 2007 three major banks, (Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America) announced a plan to stave off the housing related debt crisis by forming the Master Liquidity Enhancement Conduit (MLEC). " ("M-LEC M-LEC Master-Liquidity Enhancement Conduit "). Citi continues to support the formation of the M-LEC, which is an initiative that involves Citi and other financial institutions. Attached are additional fact sheets regarding the SIVs and the committed support facility. Citi, the leading global financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing 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. Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney Smith Barney is a division of Citigroup Global Capital Markets Inc., a global, full-service financial firm, that provides brokerage, investment banking and asset management services to corporations, governments and individuals around the world. and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com. Certain statements in this document are "forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. " within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and . These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors. More information about these factors is contained in Citigroup's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ADDITIONAL FACTS ON THE CITI-ADVISED SIVs Profile of the SIV assets and liabilities as of December 12, 2007: [TABLE OMITTED] (1) Based on Moody's ratings. (2) The SIVs have no direct exposure to U.S. sub-prime assets and have approximately $51 million of indirect exposure to sub-prime assets through CDOs which are AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. rated and carry credit enhancements Credit Enhancement A method whereby a company attempts to improve its debt or credit worthiness. Notes: Credit enhancements take many different forms. An example of a credit enhancement would be conversion rights added on to a debt instrument in order to lower the issuing . [TABLE OMITTED] OTHER INFORMATION * Through asset reductions, the SIVs have partially repaid the previously disclosed $10 billion commitment to purchase commercial paper. As a result, Citi now holds $7.2 billion of commercial paper issued by the SIVs as of December 12, 2007. Citi expects the SIVs to fully repay the commercial paper at or before the last maturity date in mid-March 2008. Following the final maturity date, the new facility is expected to be the sole commitment by Citi to the SIVs. * The Citi-advised SIVs are: Beta, Centauri, Dorada, Five, Sedna, Vetra and Zela. ADDITIONAL FACTS ON THE COMMITTED SUPPORT FACILITY [TABLE OMITTED] |
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