Remarks by CEO Jane Fraser at Citi’s 2025 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting

As prepared for delivery

Thank you, John, and a very warm welcome to our shareholders joining from across the United States and around the world.  Today, I’m pleased to update you on Citi’s progress — on the path we’re forging and the opportunities we’re seizing on your behalf.  But first, I want to make some comments about the broader environment we’re operating in.

Citi has been in business since 1812. In more than two centuries of serving our clients, we’ve navigated market shocks, natural disasters and political upheavals.  In recent years, it has been Covid and the war in Ukraine.

Once more, the world is on the cusp of deep structural change — the kind that reshapes how markets move and businesses operate.  Right now, the world is in “wait-and-see” mode — as geopolitical tensions and evolving economic policies create new and unchartered territory for countries and companies.

Although I expect the U.S. will retain its economic advantages, we are moving to a more multi-polar world. New lanes and partnerships are forming — financial, trade, defense, energy.  

The changes will extend far beyond trade and tariffs.  In the U.S., for example, regulation and tax policy are both likely to look different in a year’s time.  And these changes will not only have economic impacts but geopolitical and cultural ones as well.

In short, there’s a lot that’s yet to unfold.  The good news is that our clients, both corporate and consumer, are resilient and in good financial health.  And at Citi, we are not distracted. We’re staying focused — on executing our strategy, advancing the Transformation, and above all, supporting our clients.

This is precisely the time when Citi’s new model proves its worth. Our global footprint, diversified business mix and robust balance sheet allow us to navigate a variety of environments from a position of strength. And with our strategic changes locked in and our new organizational structure in place, we are on the front foot.

So, we are leaning in. Our Markets business is supporting clients with hedging and funding approaches.  Our Treasury and Trade Solutions teams are helping them reassess their supply chains.  Banking is advising on their strategic agendas. Wealth and our U.S. Personal Bank are providing individuals with market insights and advice.  The deep knowledge and breadth of capabilities Citi has from decades on the ground in so many local markets are real points of distinction when serving our clients.  That’s our edge — and it’s in high demand.

These core strengths have underpinned our strategy to reshape Citi into a simpler and stronger institution and fulfill the vision we set at our Investor Day three years ago:  To be the preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth management, and a valued personal bank in our home market.

We’ve made meaningful progress turning that vision into reality and today, we are a fundamentally different bank. Simpler. More focused. And above all, better aligned with what you — our shareholders — expect from us. Let me bring that to life:

First, we’ve focused our business mix.  

We now operate through five interconnected businesses. Each has a clear path to greater growth, share and returns. As part of this work, we’ve nearly completed the divestitures of our consumer franchises internationally. That includes in Mexico, where we’ve separated Banamex into a new entity — a key step towards its upcoming IPO. In India, the benefits of this strategy are already tangible. Two years after selling our retail bank there, our franchise in India is actually bigger than it was before the sale. Proof of the power of focus.

Second, we’ve reduced the bank’s risk profile.

By focusing our business mix and exiting businesses that weren’t aligned to our new strategy, we’ve made Citi more resilient. We are focused on clients that fit our core mission and, given our capital, liquidity and reserves, we’ve significantly strengthened our ability to navigate through periods of volatility.

Third, we’ve made Citi more connected.

All parts of the firm are working more closely together. For example, our Retail Bank is an important source of referrals for our Wealth business. Banking and Markets are teaming up to provide structured foreign exchange solutions around M&A transactions. This connectivity — the ability to bring the full power of Citi to bear — is increasingly a differentiator. 

Fourth, we’ve prioritized improving returns and growing fee-based revenues across our businesses.

That commitment is now embedded in our culture and how we incentivize and reward our senior leaders. Earlier this year, we adjusted our RoTCE target for 2026 to 10-11%. That’s slightly lower than before, but our long-term ambitions remain high. We are absolutely determined to grow our returns further over time — and we’ll hold ourselves accountable every step of the way.

Fifth, we’ve changed how we run the bank.

Under our new organizational structure, our leadership is closer to clients. Our teams are more agile. We’re moving faster and smarter. Our Transformation effort is making us a better controlled bank — with stronger risk management and automated processes and controls. And we’re not stopping there. We’re unlocking the power of data — a resource that, properly managed, can be one of our greatest assets.

Sixth, we’ve raised the bar on ourselves.

We’ve redefined how we measure success — new scorecards, new expectations. And we’ve brought in top-tier talent, particularly in Banking, Wealth and Technology, to drive greater intensity and up our execution game.

With these foundations in place, we’re unwavering in our focus on two priorities: improving business performance and executing the Transformation. And we’re seeing real results.

In 2024, all five of our businesses delivered solid earnings. Services, Wealth and our U.S. Personal Bank posted record revenues. We achieved positive operating leverage in every business and across the firm overall. And we returned nearly $7 billion to common shareholders through common dividends and share repurchases.

Momentum has continued into 2025. In the first quarter, we grew our returns across all five businesses while maintaining discipline around expenses, which declined by 5% year-over-year.  We also returned $2.8 billion to shareholders — which included $1.75 billion in share repurchases as part of our $20 billion buyback plan.

Let me take a few minutes to dig more deeply into our five core businesses.

I’ll start with Services.

The undisputed industry leader, our Services business continues to win new mandates and grow share — a result of our relentless focus on improving the client experience. During a record-breaking year for the business, we introduced new digital asset offerings such as Citi Token Services… and rolled out our Citi Payments Express platform, extending our leadership in e-commerce.

Next, Markets.

Our Markets business is a top-three franchise globally, driven by our leading position in fixed income and with our corporate clients. In equities, we continue growing our prime business to complement our strength in derivatives. No other bank matches our product breadth and geographic reach for corporate and investor clients.

As to Banking:

Our Corporate Bank remains a key strength, given our global network.  We continue to build up our Commercial Bank to support mid-market companies going global.  Our Investment Bank is quickly gaining wallet share and advising on headline-making transactions.  We also launched an innovative $25 billion private credit direct lending program with Apollo, opening new avenues to serve clients.

Wealth.

In Wealth, we’ve emphasized investments as a key lever of growth, and Andy Sieg has assembled an exceptional team to deliver.  Last year was a turning point as net new investment assets flows grew by 40% and we generated record revenue.  With very few truly global wealth platforms in the market, the opportunity for us is enormous.

Finally, U.S. Personal Banking.

Over the past year, we’ve launched the enhanced Citi Strata Premier Card and Flex Pay on Apple Pay. We extended and expanded our iconic partnership with American Airlines. And in our retail bank, we converted four million customers to our Simplified Banking platform, making everyday banking easier and more intuitive.

We’ve reshaped the front of the house — and at the same time, we’re rebuilding the foundations. That’s what the Transformation is all about. This effort is broader than addressing the 2020 Consent Orders. It’s fixing decades of underinvestment and ensuring Citi competes and leads in a digital-first world.

It’s a very large body of work, and I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made. We’re consolidating systems, retiring legacy technology and standardizing our risk management structures.  We’ve bolstered our controls — both preventative and detective controls. And every day, we’re seeing more benefits in how we run the bank.

Still, we recognize the path isn’t linear. We fell behind in some areas last year, particularly around data as it relates to regulatory reporting. As a result, we have reviewed our entire data program. We’ve retooled our governance and increased investments in technology and talent needed to meet our obligations.  We took action, and I’m now confident in how this work is progressing. Today, in many parts of risk management and compliance, we are operating at or near our target state.

At the heart of our work to modernize the firm is our investments in artificial intelligence. We have equipped our developers with sophisticated tools to write code and we’ve launched Gen AI tools that are boosting efficiency for more than 150,000 of our colleagues. We are committed to becoming one of the industry’s first truly AI-ready workforces, and we are well on our way.

So, as we look to the future of the world around us, we do so with clarity and conviction. We are not at the end of a cycle — we are at the start of something transformational. This is not a passing phase, it’s a permanent shift in global dynamics.

But Citi was built for this. Our strategy has been designed to perform across a wide range of conditions. We have the capital, the liquidity, and the reserves to manage whatever comes next. We have the leadership and the experience to meet the moment — and the next one.

Time and again, we’ve shown we can be a port in the storm for our clients, for global markets, and for the broader economy. And this time will be no different. We are not distracted by uncertainty. We’ve simplified our structure, strengthened our foundation, and built a platform for durable, long-term performance. We know what we’re here to do. And we’re delivering — for our clients, for our communities, and for you, our shareholders.

Thank you for your continued confidence in Citi, and I look forward to answering your questions later in the meeting.