Citibank to launch Islamic Bank in July.

BAHRAIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 9, 1996--Citibank announced here today at a meeting of the Gulf Economic Forum that it would launch its Islamic Bank in Bahrain in July.

This follows the formal approval from the Bahrain Monetary Agency received last month. The Citi Islamic Investment Bank will be capitalized at US$20 million initially and will serve the needs of investors and businesses who require special financial services which conform with Sharia (Islamic) law.

Speaking to a group of international business people and political leaders attending the Forum, Citibank vice chairman William R. Rhodes said: "We believe this new venture represents the first Islamic bank to be launched as a stand-alone business by a major international bank. It demonstrates our dedication to serving customers around the world who need and expect a wide range of different services." He went on to say that "the Islamic banking market is growing fast and we at Citibank expect to develop our product offerings still further in this competitive market sector."

Mr Mohammed Al-Shroogi, Citibank's regional director for the Gulf and Levant region, and a 20-year veteran of the corporation, will become the first chairman of Citi Islamic Investment Bank's board. The managing director will be Mr Shafqat Ali Memon, who has also had long experience with Citibank in different parts of the Middle East and Africa.

The bank will be a 100% owned subsidiary of Citicorp Banking Corporation and be headquartered in Bahrain, where Citibank already has a major banking presence dating back 26 years. Citibank has been providing Islamic banking services to investors and financial institutions since the early 1980s, through its offices in Bahrain and London. With the creation of the Islamic Bank, it will now formalize the range of products and services available and continue to tailor them to the special needs of customers. Products which are currently offered to clients include trade finance, lease finance, equity linked products, funds management and Islamic securities.

New customers will be sought throughout the Islamic world, including the Middle East (particularly countries in the Arabian Gulf), North Africa and Asia (in countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia), and anywhere else where a market exists. The Citibank branch network in 98 countries worldwide, including 76 "emerging markets", will cooperate with the Citi Islamic Investment Bank in achieving its objectives.

Citi Islamic investment Bank also plans to work with other Islamic banks to help link their depositors to investment opportunities in promising markets in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The bank has already managed assets totaling more than US$1 billion for Islamic investors.

CONTACT: Citibank

Kenneth Campbell, 1-212-559-0048