Lending: creating growth, creating opportunities.

Citi has just finalized our quarterly report on lending activity--which you can find here. The report presents an opportunity to reflect on what is both an important part of our businesses and one of the fundamental ways we are helping revive global growth and restore prosperity here at home.

It's no secret that credit is a prerequisite to expansion and a key to opportunity--or that the crisis has seen a decrease in the credit available to consumers, businesses, communities and institutions.

Over the past two years, we have placed a special emphasis on helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. We are doing that through mortgage lending and our efforts to modify and refinance loans through the U.S. government's Making Home Affordable program. In fact, Citi has been one of the most active banks in assisting financially strapped homeowners, working with more than 715,000 borrowers in the U.S. to help them avoid potential foreclosure.

That we are able to provide these opportunities to our customers is rewarding for all of us here at Citi, and it should be. After all - it's the fundamental reason we are in business.