Citigroup to Purchase Copelco: Acquisition Will Add 200,000 Small-and Medium-Sized Business Customers to Citigroup's Leasing Customer Base.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2000

Citigroup (NYSE:C) today announced an agreement to purchase all outstanding shares of Copelco Capital, Inc., a leader in small ticket vendor leasing, from Itochu International, Inc., a Japanese global trading house.

Copelco's business will be integrated into Citigroup's equipment finance division, Citicorp Global Equipment Finance, and will increase its leased assets by 50 percent. The transaction, terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close in May 2000. It is subject to various regulatory approvals.

With the acquisition of Copelco, Citicorp Global Equipment Finance is expected to become the largest U.S. bank-owned leasing company. Citigroup will also acquire a leading share of the small ticket healthcare and office equipment leasing sectors, and a strong position in several other key markets, including personal computers, telecommunications and machine tool leasing.

"Copelco is a superb addition to Citigroup's leasing business," said Victor J. Menezes, Chairman and CEO of Citibank, N.A. and Co-CEO of Citigroup's Global Corporate and Investment Bank. "Copelco's focus on small-to-medium-sized businesses complements Citigroup's typically larger clients, and both companies have been strong proponents of utilizing the Internet and e-commerce to best serve their customers."

"This transaction is a terrific strategic opportunity for us," said Sal Maglietta, Head of Citicorp Global Equipment Finance. "By adding to our resources we are creating a powerful force in the fastest growing segment of the $500 billion U.S. leasing market -- the small ticket vendor business. We expect to expand Copelco's revenues substantially by marketing its innovative financing and e-commerce solutions to our customer base. At the same time, Copelco has strong and successful relationships with over 200,000 small and mid-sized business customers, which we plan to enhance through a strong cross-sell of other Citigroup products."

"Becoming a part of Citicorp Global Equipment Finance makes a lot of sense for us strategically, financially and operationally," said Robert J. Lemenze, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Copelco. "Our businesses are strongly complementary, and together we should reap significant synergistic benefits and solidify our market leadership. More importantly, this transaction fits our objective of providing customers with the best solutions and world-class service. By being part of Citigroup we will now have access to capital, financing expertise and product resources that are well beyond those of any of our competitors."

Copelco Capital, Inc., with 200,000 small- and medium-sized customers and 900 employees in the U.S., Canada and U.K., is a leading provider of financing solutions to equipment vendors and dealers in the small-ticket office technology, healthcare, and commercial and industrial equipment markets. Additional information is available at www.copelco.com.

With a current global portfolio of over $11.8 billion, Citicorp Global Equipment Finance, a business unit of Citigroup, is the second largest U.S. bank-owned leasing company and a leader in global asset and equipment finance. Citicorp Global Equipment Finance provides a broad range of funding solutions to customers in transportation, material handling, technology, power and energy, construction, energy management, quick-service restaurants, automotive services, telecommunications and other industries throughout the world. For more information about Citicorp Global Equipment Finance, visit the company's website at http://www.citicorp.com/gef.

Citigroup (NYSE:C), the most global financial services company, provides some 100 million consumers, corporations, governments and institutions in 100 countries with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage and asset management. The 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group brought together such brand names as Citibank, Travelers, Salomon Smith Barney, Commercial Credit (now named CitiFinancial), and Primerica under Citigroup's trademark red umbrella. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.