CUHK
News Centre

Citibank and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) held the inauguration ceremony for “Citibank University Banking Course 2009-2010” today, which is open to all non-final year undergraduates and postgraduates of all faculties of CUHK.

The Citibank University Banking Course, which is part of the Citi Financial Education Series funded by Citi Foundation, is designed to provide students with the insights and soft skills required in modern banking operations and practices. It offers a valuable opportunity for students to explore the real world of banking, through both structured classroom lectures and interactive discussion with senior bankers from Citibank. Apart from finance-related knowledge, the lecturers will also talk about essential skill sets in the workplace, which are important for the future career development of the students.

The course has attracted a good response this year. After a stringent selection process, comprising a written test and a group interview, 60 students (10 more compared with last year) have been admitted to the course. Among them, about 45% are non-business faculty students, as compared to 30% recorded last year.

At the inauguration ceremony, Mr. Weber Lo, Chief Executive Officer & Country Business Manager, Citibank Global Consumer Group, said, “Citibank is committed to playing an active role in nurturing future business leaders from primary to tertiary level. Therefore, we decide to let more students from different backgrounds benefit from the course by extending it to postgraduates and increasing the number of students admitted. We hope students can acquire practical financial knowledge and workplace skill sets as well as the wisdom from our Citibankers to equip themselves to tackle real-world business challenge in the future.“

Professor Michael Hui, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK said, “The Chinese University of Hong Kong not only seeks to offer the best business education to its students, but also strives to provide real-world and hands-on knowledge to these future business leaders. Our long-term goal is to raise the standard of business practices in Hong Kong and nearby cities in the region. We are most happy and privileged to be able to work in partnership with such a well-established financial institution as Citibank to organize a Banking Course for our students. The course sets out to provide quality business education with real-life examples and experience that consolidate the classroom concepts and theories, and some participants may be given invaluable internship opportunities at Citibank during summer. I am sure that every one of our students will make full use of this unique opportunity to learn from the wisdom and wealth of experience of accomplished bankers from one of the world’s leading banking giants.”

The banking course will run from November 2009 to March 2010, with over 25 hours of classroom lectures, a visit to a Citibank branch, a mid-term test and a final presentation. This year’s modules include:

‧Introduction of Consumer & Investment Banking
‧Consumer Lending
‧Treasury Cycle
‧Commercial Bank
‧Risk Management
‧Insurance
‧Investment Products and Advisory Services
‧Compliance and Control
‧Branch Operations
‧Bank Marketing and Research
‧Cards Business
‧Career in Banking

Citibank University Banking Course was first run in Taiwan in 1998 at the National Taiwan University. Citibank now conducts similar banking courses in several other countries in the Asia Pacific region including mainland China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. In Hong Kong, the programme was first launched at the University of Hong Kong in 2004. The programme aims to teach students in higher education the fundamentals of finance and banking, as well as to help develop future leaders to understand complex financial issues.

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About Citi
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.

Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation targets its strategic giving on its priority focus areas: Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, Education, and Financial Education and Asset Building. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Microenterprise and Small and Growing Businesses to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.

Citi Financial Education
Based on the belief that knowledge is your greatest asset, the Citi Financial Education Program is a global, company-wide effort to identify, support and implement initiatives that help give individuals, families and communities the tools needed to make sound financial decisions. Citi's 10-year, US$200 million global commitment is focused in three areas: Personal, Small Business and Institutional Financial Education. Additional information about the Citi Financial Education Program, including Citi Foundation guidelines, links and resources and the Citi Financial Education Program Curriculum and Facilitator's Guide may be found at http://financialeducation.citigroup.com.