Citi helps finance upgrades to 20,000 New York public housing units.

Citigroup and the New York City Housing Authority struck what's being called a "creative" fix to finance upgrades to 20,000 local public housing units. The tax credit bond deal generates more than $400 million for the developments, in part by unlocking $108 million in previously announced federal stimulus funds as well as $42 million in New York State modernization funds, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office says. The renovations are also expected to create hundreds of construction jobs.

The plan capitalizing on private and federal dollars preserves affordable housing. "We want to send a signal to the city where our headquarters is located that we are going to play a much more active role in community development," Citi Community Capital's Andrew Ditton tells Bloomberg News. "This is a showcase for how we can use our financial resources and brain power to create a complex transaction for the public's benefit."