Peter Babej, Citi Asia Pacific CEO, said: “Citi is committed to building a more diverse, inclusive and sustainable future."
KUALA LUMPUR: Citi was named best bank for corporate responsibility in Asia by Euromoney in their recent annual awards.
Citi said the editorial award recognises a bank’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion; reducing the environmental impact of operations; promoting workforce development and social mobility; and innovative and effective initiatives to strengthen local communities in which banks are domiciled.
Peter Babej, Citi Asia Pacific CEO, said: “Citi is committed to building a more diverse, inclusive and sustainable future. This award is excellent recognition of everything we do to support our clients and communities to generate positive change.”
In a statement issued on Friday, the bank said the award recognised its important work in these areas over the last year.
In September 2020, Citi Asia Pacific and the Citi Foundation committed US$35mil in philanthropic investments to advance economic opportunities and employability for youth from low-income and underserved communities in the region by 2023.
In addition, the bank will offer 6,000 jobs and 60,000 job skills training opportunities for young people at Citi Asia over the next three years.
In 2020, Citi Foundation invested over US$10.20mil in 39 community programmes across Asia Pacific, focusing on pathways to progress, financial inclusion and community solutions.
In addition, the businesses in Asia Pacific contributed US$14.40mil to support community projects and events.
To date, Citi and Citi Foundation has contributed over US$23.86mil in supporting Covid-19-related recovery efforts across the region to deliver ongoing relief and support for recovery in communities impacted by the pandemic.
In Malaysia, almost 2,000 employees volunteered for Global Community Day in over 15 group activities covering 10 NGOs this year.
Citi also pioneered social engagement over the last 10 years with community stakeholders in urban transformation, financial education and the development of young entrepreneurs in the country.
In the area of Youth Entrepreneurship, Citi Malaysia is in its third year of partnership with the Asia School of Business supporting The Rapid Youth Success Entrepreneurship (RYSE) Programme to improve youth unemployment rates in urban Malaysia.
Citi said low income students from community colleges in the country are taught innovation and design thinking by the Asia School of Business team in addition to social entrepreneurship skills and e-commerce.
Over the last seven years, Citi Malaysia through Citi Foundation has partnered with Think City, a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd. This community-based urban regeneration body seeks to create more sustainable and livable cities.
Think City’s Culture Based Urban Regeneration Programme served as a platform to promote urban sustainability, best practices and diverse aspects of urban regeneration to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Think City activated the Covid-19 response plan to support urban poor communities, including migrant workers and B40 households impacted by Covid-19.
