Citi Turns 200: After natural disasters, bank comes to the rescue

In celebration of Citigroup's 200th Anniversary, we are sharing stories from our rich history here on this blog. The 34th installment below covers how the bank deployed technical and human resources following earthquakes and bush fires. Read the 33rd installment explaining how the bank became a strategic ally in financing overseas sales for aircraft maker, Embraer, here.

After natural disasters, bank comes to the rescue

After earthquakes and bush fires, Citibank deploys technical and human resources

On May 27, 2006, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale rocked Central Java, Indonesia, killing more than 5,700 people. As relief efforts swung into action, problems soon arose with the refueling of chartered aircraft landing at Yogyakarta Airport. The crews of most of the aircraft could pay only in dollars for the aviation fuel supplied by the Indonesian state-owned oil company. However, when the company asked for cash payments to be transferred to its account, local banks refused to accept them, citing regulations on the physical condition of the notes.

Citi was the only bank to respond to the oil company's request. Staff worked around the clock to protect the cash. The bank hired a security firm to transport the $160,000 in payments that had been collected by late June to Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. "I felt so relieved to learn that Citi accepted our request and was willing to help us regardless of the physical condition of the cash," said one of the company's employees in the aviation sales, service and support department. "I was worried that we would have to keep such a big amount ourselves and transfer it to our account in Jakarta."

Seven months later, a separate earthquake off the coast of Taiwan damaged undersea cables that provide communications across East Asia, causing major Internet slowdowns in Indonesia. Among those affected were Bank Windu, a Citi client that risked incurring significant losses if it could not complete its daily transactions. The bank contacted Citi, whose web-based banking platform was still working well. Citi subsequently arranged for a workstation on its own premises to be set up for the Indonesian bank.

"The process was very smooth and swift. All of our reports could be printed the next day without delay," recalled Iwan APW Yuliawan of the international banking operations department of Bank Windu, adding that it carried out hundreds of transactions worth up to $2 million daily. The disruption was temporary. "After two days, everything was back to normal and we carried the transactions back to our office," Iwan said.

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