Global Citizenship Report 2017

Through a joint venture with America Movil and a strategic partnership with Oxxo, a network of convenience stores, Citibanamex provides a basic account and mobile banking solution for the unbanked sector in Mexico called Transfer. Out of 5.4 million active accounts, more than 80 percent of customers were new to banking, and 1.3 million use Transfer to receive government benefits. Approximately 9,000 accounts are being opened every day. Financial Capability and Resiliency Consumer education is a key component of building a more inclusive financial system. It’s not enough to have access to financial products and services — consumers need to know how to use these products responsibly and how to protect their own best interests. Citi offers a range of free financial education resources online. We also provide support to financial capability programs around the world. For example, we work with several municipal and community partners to run a financial counseling service serving Mexican immigrants. Like many other immigrant groups, many in the Mexican community in the U.S. often lack previous exposure to formal financial services and are wary of hidden fees and large institutions. The Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera (Financial Counseling Window) operates within the Mexican Consulate and offers beneficiaries advice on banking services and money manage- ment. The Ventanilla was initially formed in New York City, in partnership with the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment, the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, Ariva and Qualitas Foundation. Since then, Citi Community Development has also led the expansion to seven additional cities: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. We also have a long-running relationship with the New York City Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE). Since 2008, Citi and the Citi Foundation have contributed more than $1.5 million in funding to the OFE to help scale their efforts to improve the financial well-being of low-income families in the city. The OFE provides free financial education, coaching and counseling programs focused on helping their clients stabilize their finan- cial future by saving money, building credit and paying down debt. The OFE model has since expanded to Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. These programs have been focused on real-world impacts that improve the lives of local citizens. For example in 2017, a year after launching the Boston OFE, the city, along with Citi Community Development (CCD) and other partners, launched an ambitious goal for building up the credit profiles of its citizens. The Boston Builds Credit program, the nation’s first citywide credit-building initiative, aims to help 25,000 residents reach a prime credit score (defined as a 660 FICO) by 2025. This initiative will help ensure that the city’s most vulnerable residents can build a financial profile that will enable them to achieve their goals. Another example of focused financial capability interven- tions is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) awareness campaign led by New York City and supported by Citi for the past several years. The EITC can be a substantial lump-sum payment for many low-income households. However, many people are not aware of their eligibility for this program and miss a valuable opportunity to pay down debt or save money. NYC Free Tax Prep, led by the city of New York in partnership with participating nonprofit organizations, is a marketing campaign to increase awareness of the EITC, along with free tax preparation services for qualified individuals. Over the past three years, NYC Free Tax Prep helped return roughly half a billion dollars in fee savings and refunds to more than 425,000 households. SUPPORTING U.S. VETERANS Once military service members return home, there is a lot of catching up to do and veterans often face difficulties reestablishing themselves after duty. One aspect of this is improving financial capability, partic- ularly for veterans who may be working toward big life steps such as homeownership or starting a family. Money Management International leads the Clearpoint Reconnect program, an initiative to help veterans that may be struggling to manage their finance. The program, which Citi has supported since 2012, offers free financial education resources and an interactive website to help military families meet their financial goals. Clearpoint Reconnect has added 7,000 regis- tered users since 2012, and in 2017 the organization hosted 1,278 military members at 124 events and work- shops. Support for this program is part of Citi Salutes, our firm-wide initiative to meet the unique needs of service members, veterans and their families in the areas of employment, financial capability and housing. 14 “Mayor Garcetti Announces Free Tax Prep,” City of Los Angeles (website), accessed January 2018, https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-announces-free-tax-prep-los-angeles-support-low-income-working-families. 108