Citibank Announces Scholarship Program for The Fed Challenge; As Many as 200 High School Teams Expected to Compete; Citibank Pledges $196,500 in Scholarships, Awards and Grants for Ninth Year.

STAMFORD, Conn. -- The Student Loan Corporation, a subsidiary of Citibank, N.A., that provides a full range of educational financing products to consumers and private label programs to other lenders, announced today that it will once again be the sole provider of cash scholarships, awards and grants for The Fed Challenge-- a national high school economics competition sponsored by seven Reserve Banks and Branches in the Federal Reserve System. The 2006 Fed Challenge marks the twelfth anniversary of the program. It allows high school students the opportunity to earn up to $7,000 in Citibank college scholarships. Citibank will award a total of $196,500 in scholarships for the competition.

In The Fed Challenge, student teams work together to analyze factors influencing the U.S. economy and develop presentations explaining their monetary policy recommendations to current members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). These teams compete first at local and Federal Reserve District or Branch levels in late winter and early spring. District winners then advance to The Fed Challenge national semi-final and final rounds of competition held in Washington, D.C. in May.

"We're pleased to offer our continued support of The Fed Challenge with these Citibank scholarships, awards, and grants. This competition is a demonstration of the economic insight of our country's best and brightest high school students," said Michael Reardon, President and CEO of The Student Loan Corporation. "The students' understanding of economics helps them manage their personal finances, and, in many cases, enables them to influence factors that determine their long-term success, both in business and in life."

The semi-finalists, finalists and the champion team will divide up $167,000 in cash scholarships, awards and grants. The champion team will receive $50,000: students will earn Citibank scholarships of up to $7,000, their faculty advisor will receive a Citibank award of up to $5,000, and their school will receive a $10,000 Citibank grant to establish and/or equip an economics lab. Since the inception of the competition, Citibank has awarded over $1 million to help students attend the school of their choice.

This year, schools whose teams are first runners-up at the district level will win Citibank's District Runner-Up Prize. Checks for $2,500 will be paid to each school to further the teaching of economics for all their students. All recipients will receive awards based solely on their performance in this competition. In addition, Citibank will offer a special Novice Team Award (up to $2,000 in each participating district or branch) to encourage schools that have either never advanced beyond the first round of competition, or have never participated in The Fed Challenge. Details about the Novice Award program are available from each participating Federal Reserve District Bank or Branch.

The Fed Challenge is part of Citigroup's commitment to financial education. In 2004, Citigroup and the Citigroup Foundation announced a 10-year, $200 million global financial education commitment and formed a new Office of Financial Education. In addition, this global program was designed to encourage its 300,000 employees around the world to devote time to support financial education and other charitable causes. Under the new initiative, employees may take a day off from work to volunteer for non-profit organizations in their communities.

Free Information Available

Interested teachers, students, and high school administrators can get complete information about The Fed Challenge and learn if the Federal Reserve Bank or Branch in their area participates by calling 1-877-FED-CHLG. High school teams can then register for the competition through their local Federal Reserve Bank or Branch. Registration deadlines vary according to each Federal Reserve District or Branch.

About Citibank

Citibank is a member of Citigroup (NYSE: C), the leading global financial services company, which 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. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.

The Student Loan Corporation (NYSE: STU) is one of the nation's leading originators and holders of insured student loans providing a full range of education financing products and services to meet the needs of students, parents, schools and lenders. The company was previously a division of Citibank and became a NYSE-listed corporation in 1992. Citibank, N.A. is the majority shareholder. Citibank was one of the first banks to finance higher education, beginning in 1958. Today, The Student Loan Corporation serves approximately 1.7 million customers and over 3,000 schools nationwide.

For information or inquiries regarding student loans, please call 1-800-967-2400. Customers with Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD) may call 1-800-846-1298. College planning and financing information is also available at www.studentloan.com.