About JA :: What's New

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
July 2, 2009

Austin, TX, High School Students Win
2009 JA Banks in Action North American Competition

Financial skills contest sponsored by Citi Foundation and Junior Achievement

Colorado Springs, Colo. — Junior Achievement® today announced that a group of Junior Achievement students from Bowie High School in Austin, TX, are winners of the 2009 JA Banks in Action North American Competition, sponsored by Citi Foundation. As the winning team, the students will receive $1,500. Teams from Las Vegas, NV, and Louisville, KY, took 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

The First-Place Team, Team JA Centex 1, receiving their $1,500 cash award during the Awards Luncheon of the JA Banks in Action competition in New York City.

The students were one of the 10 teams from across the U.S and Canada to qualify to face off in the final round of an exhilarating game of financial know-how in New York City on June 28-July 1, 2009. The participating teams represented Louisville, KY; Jacksonville, FL; Tampa, FL; Wilmington, DE; Las Vegas, NV; Salt Lake City, UT; Austin, TX; Tucson, AZ; Hartford, SD; and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Geared to high school students, JA Banks in Action demystifies finance by explaining how a bank works. While exposing students to banking basics, operations, and history, students learn about various career paths they can take in the financial services industry. A computer simulation allows student competitors to role-play as bank managers, challenging them to successfully operate a bank in a dynamic environment where their decisions will impact the bottom line of "their" bank.

"This competition provides a unique and innovative learning experience, which is made possible through the support of the Citi Foundation," said Sean Rush, CEO of JA Worldwide. "These young people are learning lessons about banking that they will be able to carry with them throughout their lives, in every facet of their lives. Junior Achievement is proud to be able to offer this opportunity through the JA Banks in Action program."

"Citi is pleased to partner with Junior Achievement to help educate our leaders of tomorrow about the banking industry," said Francesco Vanni d'Archirafi, Chief Executive Officer of Citi Global Transaction Services and who also serves on the JA Worldwide Board of Governors and is the Chairman of JA-Young Enterprise Europe. "We hope many of them will be inspired to pursue careers in the financial services industry, as well as gain an understanding of how financial institutions help people manage their money and achieve their life goals."

In 2007, JA Banks in Action expanded from its roots in Latin America to become a global program. It now has reached more than 63,000 students- thanks to more than $8.6 million in funding from Citi Foundation to support the program's growth and development.

Citi Foundation's support also enables JA Worldwide® to build infrastructure, which will allow it to translate JA Banks in Action into any language-the program is currently available in ten languages, with plans to translate into additional languages. The grant is part of Citi and Citi Foundation's 10-year, $200 million commitment to financial education. Citi employees also invest in students' futures by volunteering to teach financial literacy and responsible business skills to young people in the classroom.

About Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through its two operating units, 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.

About 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. In the United States and Canada, the Citi Foundation also supports Community Development programs. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, and Community Development to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.

About JA Worldwide^® (Junior Achievement)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 135 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional five million students served by operations in 123 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

###