C Citigroup Inc

By Chris Wack

Citigroup Inc. said Friday that it worked exclusively with five Black-owned firms to syndicate a $2.5 billion bond issuance, reinforcing its commitment to increasing racial equity in the capital markets and broader financial services industry.

The bank said the proceeds from the bond will finance the construction, rehabilitation and preservation of quality affordable housing for low-and moderate-income populations in the U.S.

In November, Citi and the Citi Foundation said that one year into a three-year commitment, the Action for Racial Equity initiative had already invested $1 billion in strategic initiatives to help close the racial wealth gap and increase economic mobility in the U.S.

Citi is on track to far exceed its original $1.1 billion commitment, which includes a goal to strengthen Citi's own policies and practices, including the expansion of the firm's own core business activities with minority-owned broker dealers and depository institutions.

The $2.5 billion dual-tranche transaction priced on Jan. 18 and settled Tuesday. For the transaction, Citi said it hired five Black-owned financial firms to underwrite and distribute the bonds to investors, in addition to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. The firms included Blaylock Van LLC; CastleOak Securities L.P.; Global Oak Capital Markets; Loop Capital Markets LLC; and Security Capital Brokerage Inc.

Write to Chris Wack at chris.wack@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2022 09:33 ET (14:33 GMT)

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