Moody's Investors Service said it has affirmed the ratings on eighty-four classes of securities issued through the Citibank Credit Card Issuance Trust and the Citibank Credit Card Master Trust I, following its downgrades of the long-term ratings of Citigroup Inc and its subsidiaries, including Citibank NA.

Citibank has the most humorous ads on television promoting there no hassle no late fee credit card; however there are things to be aware of with any Citibank credit card, the fine print.

Citibank has seen large growth in their credit card base in the past few years and is expected to match the industry's projected expansion of 15% per annum in the next couple years.

Citibank, the leading player in the credit card market is teaming up with Shell to launch the best performance credit card that offers the highest rebate for fuel and everyday spending.

Citigroup has given its head of investment banking in India greater influence in Asia and internationally, only two weeks after appointing a chief executive for its Malaysian business.

Customers who hadn't used their Macy's department store credit cards in a few years have been getting surprises in the mail: new Citi MasterCards.

The problem? Many say they don't recall authorizing Citigroup to open a MasterCard account in their names.

Citibank credit card had been opened in his name when his credit-monitoring service notified him of activity on his account. When he pulled his credit report, a new Citibank credit card account was listed.

Citigroup Inc., which bought Macy's credit card accounts in 2005, sent letters to about 3.5 million account holders in early August telling them that their inactive Macy's department store cards would be switched to a general-purpose MasterCard.

Citibank's latest credit card campaign, the "Citibank Free GreenBag promo" supports recycling and environmental protection in the Philippines.

The Supreme Court has referred for arbitration the row between Citibank and the British life style and travel company, TLC Marketing, by an ex-judge of the court.

TLC and its Indian partner Wunderman India of Mumbai had approached Citibank with an offer to promote its credit cards linking them to a scheme called 'free return flight voucher' or 'world for free destinations'.

The plan was accepted as the companies claimed that they were world leaders in consumer propositions, helping clients to meet their objectives such as customer retention and loyalty.

According to Citibank, 35,000 credit card members were found eligible for the return flights. The scheme went well initially. Later, the bank started receiving complaints from its customers regarding breach of commitments by the travel companies.

Citi (C), the nation's largest bank, is issuing 3.5 million credit cards to department store customers who didn't request them - a step that consumer groups say raises privacy concerns and could expose consumers to identity theft.

This month, Citi is sending general-purpose MasterCards to Macy's (M) customers with credit card accounts that have been inactive for two to four years. Citi bought those credit card accounts last year.

Citi and Macy's describe the new cards as a way to "replace" inactive Macy's accounts. But the new Citibank MasterCards aren't Macy's branded; they can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted. Macy's cards can be used only in-store.

Targeting small businesses and professionals, Citibank today launched 'CitiBusiness' in association with oil marketing company IndianOil, and aims fuel transaction of worth Rs 400 crore by March 2008.

Carrying a reward programme, the card delivers up to five per cent savings on fuel purchase at IndianOil petrol stations, including a 2.5 per cent surcharge waiver.

''Through this newly launched card, we hope fuel spend of Rs 400 crore would be achieved by the end of this financial year,'' Citibank Business Manager (Cards and Unsecured Loans) T R Ramachandran told reporters here.

He said the card provides a credit limit of Rs 5-10 lakh depending on the financial statements of the consumers and discounts on business-related requirements from 11 service providers.

As part of the IOC-CitiBusiness Turbo Rewards Programme, customers will get four points per Rs 150 spent on fuel purchase at the IOC outlets and one point per Rs 150 on all other spends, which can be redeemed against fuel purchases at IOC outlets.

Hong Kong-based CPI Citi Group, investment arm of Citibank, has invested Rs 325 crore in Delhi based real estate major BPTP for developing a township on 1,500 acre of land in Nahar Par area, Faridabad.

The company has acquired the land and has already built a bridge over the canal to connect sector 13 and 14 of Faridabad to the new area under development.

The group is also developing a number of projects in Gurgaon. Besides IT Park, the company is developing residential projects in Sector 10, Gurgaon. It also has projects in Noida and Greater Noida.

CITI, one of the world's largest banks, is changing its track in retail business in India. As the consumer banking business battles with rising costs and increasing delinquencies, Citi is changing its model. At a time, when several banks are lowering growth targets for retail, Citi is preparing for a 30% growth this year.

The bank's strategy for growth is to get card holders and borrowers to become accountholders as well. At the same time, the bank is trying to get more out of its credit card alliance partners (departmental stores, airlines, and oil companies) by converting more of their customers into bank's customers. "The overall cost of doing business is rising. People costs, premises costs and cost of credit have all gone up. The entire industry is facing this pressure.

We have reshaped our collections and originations. We are redesigning our sales force to enhance efficiency and cross-sell products in a more effective manner," Citi India CEO Sanjay Nayar said. Citi's plan is to increase business volumes without increasing costs by the use of technology and cutting down process.

The investigative arm of the country's anti-monopoly watchdog has recommended action against two multinational banks for making false promises to their credit card customers and violating the RBI guidelines.

In its preliminary report submitted to the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission, the Director General of Investigation and Registration (DGIR) said that Citibank and HSBC have violated the rules framed by the Reserve Bank and caused loss to the general public.

Moreover, Citibank did not mention the address of either its registered office or corporate address, making it difficult for a consumer to issue notice of termination for credit card services.

Global payments solutions company, MasterCard International, hopes the youth is going to provide the next big push in the credit card market in India.

To this effect, the company has brought out specialised products primarily aimed at the younger generation.

"MasterCard has tied up with Citibank and MTV to provide potential cardholders a credit card specially designed to the reflect the shape of things to come," vice-president and General Manager, South Asia, Mastercard International, Mr Nitin Gupta, told The Tribune in an interview.

MasterCard is primarily the infrastructure provider that issues cards by its member banks. In India, most of the banks are members of the MasterCard International providing a variety of products, including debit cards, credit cards, ATM cards and other forms of plastic money.

Citibank and Jet Airways today announced the launch of the super-premium Jet Airways Citibank Platinum Card and the Jet Airways CitiBusiness Card. This is an extension of their successful partnership, and the enhanced features on these co-branded credit cards are truly attractive and rewarding for discerning frequent flyers.

The Jet Airways Citibank Platinum Card offers one of the richest rewards program in the country as it provides 4 JPMiles for every Rs.100 spent, allowing the member to maximize JPMiles accrual while spending across categories, be it shopping for groceries or whilst dining at a restaurant. The JPMiles thus accrued can be redeemed for free flights or upgrades to Première under the award-winning Jet Airways' Jet Privilege frequent flyer programme.

Citibank is one of the leading banks worldwide. It is now planning to expand its credit card business to Asia Pacific area. There are surely threats in that market, but there are also excellent opportunities. In this article I will analyze the Citibank as a brand and will discuss possible solutions to the problems that might occur in the new market.

Brand of Citibank: Citibank has already been in banking operation in Asia Pacific and mainly has good relationships with large business houses. Also, for private customers, Citibank offers the Citi-one accounts with minimum deposit $10,000. In addition, in Hong Kong there are 7,600 Citigold customers who are required to deposit more than $100,000 in their accounts. Consequently, Citibank has been regarded as a prestigious, consumer-oriented international bank.