Press Release: Citi Says Its Systems Were Not Breached

For Immediate Release
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
December 22, 2009

Citi Says Its Systems Were Not Breached

NEW YORK – In response to an inaccurate story today by The Wall Street Journal on Citi’s cyber security, Citi issued the following statement:

Allegations reported today by The Wall Street Journal of a breach of Citi systems and associated losses are false. Any allegation that the FBI is working on a case at Citigroup involving a breach of Citi systems resulting in tens of millions of dollars of losses is false. There has been no breach and there have been no associated losses. We take the security of our customers’ accounts and systems seriously. We continuously take steps to protect our customers against fraud, and we have state-of-the-art processes to detect and prevent criminal activity.

Occasionally, as with virtually all financial institutions, there are instances of fraud or breaches of third-party systems that result in our taking actions to protect our customers and Citi. However, contrary to the Wall Street Journal report today, there has been no breach of Citi’s systems.

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Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com .

The Wall Street Journal has not responded to an email inquiry sent to it asking if they still stand by their story as of the time of this publication.