Citigroup (C)

Variable Interest Entities

An entity is referred to as a variable interest entity (VIE) if it meets the criteria outlined in FASB Interpretation No. 46(R), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (revised December 2003) FIN 46(R), which are: (1) the entity has equity that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) the entity has equity investors that cannot make significant decisions about the entity’s operations or that do not absorb their proportionate share of the expected losses or receive the expected returns of the entity.

In addition, as specified in FIN 46(R), a VIE must be consolidated by the Company if it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE, which is the party involved with the VIE that has a majority of the expected losses or a majority of the expected residual returns or both.

Along with the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with these guidelines, the Company has significant variable interests in other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, certain collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), many structured finance transactions, and various investment funds.

However, these VIEs as well as all other unconsolidated VIEs are regularly monitored by the Company to determine if any reconsideration events have occurred that could cause its primary beneficiary status to change. These events include:

·          additional purchases or sales of variable interests by Citigroup or an unrelated third party, which cause Citigroup’s overall variable interest ownership to change;

·          changes in contractual arrangements in a manner that reallocates expected losses and residual returns among the variable interest holders; and

·          providing support to an entity that results in an implicit variable interest.

All other entities not deemed to be VIEs with which the Company has involvement are evaluated for consolidation under Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB) No. 51, Consolidated Financial Statements, SFAS No. 94, Consolidation of All Majority-Owned Subsidiaries (SFAS 94), and “EITF Issue No. 04-5.”

Variable Interest Entities

An entity is referred to as a variable interest entity (VIE) if it meets the criteria outlined in FASB Interpretation No. 46(R), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (revised December 2003) FIN 46(R), which are: (1) the entity has equity that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) the entity has equity investors that cannot make significant decisions about the entity’s operations or that do not absorb their proportionate share of the expected losses or receive the expected returns of the entity.

In addition, as specified in FIN 46(R), a VIE must be consolidated by the Company if it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE, which is the party involved with the VIE that has a majority of the expected losses or a majority of the expected residual returns or both.

Along with the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with these guidelines, the Company has significant variable interests in other VIEs that

Variable Interest Entities

An entity is referred to as a variable interest entity (VIE) if it meets the criteria outlined in FASB Interpretation No. 46(R), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (revised December 2003) FIN 46(R), which are: (1) the entity has equity that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) the entity has equity investors that cannot make significant decisions about the entity’s operations or that do not absorb their proportionate share of the expected losses or receive the expected returns of the entity.

In addition, as specified in FIN 46(R), a VIE must be consolidated by the Company if it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE, which is the party involved with the VIE that has a majority of the expected losses or a majority of the expected residual returns or both.

Along with the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with these guidelines, the Company has significant variable interests in other VIEs that

Variable Interest Entities

An entity is referred to as a variable interest entity (VIE) if it meets the criteria outlined in FASB Interpretation No. 46-R, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (revised December 2003)” (FIN 46-R), which are: (1) the entity has equity that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) the entity has equity investors that cannot make significant decisions about the entity’s operations or that do not absorb their proportionate share of the expected losses or receive the expected returns of the entity.

In addition, as specified in FIN 46-R, a VIE must be consolidated by the Company if it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE, which is the party involved with the VIE that has a majority of the expected losses or a majority of the expected residual returns or both.

Along with the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with these guidelines, the Company has significant variable interests in other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, certain collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), many structured finance transactions, and various investment funds.

However, these VIEs as well as all other unconsolidated VIEs are regularly monitored by the Company to determine if any reconsideration events have occurred that could cause its primary beneficiary status to change. These events include:

·          Additional purchases or sales of variable interests by Citigroup or an unrelated third party, which cause Citigroup’s overall variable interest ownership to change,

·          Changes in contractual arrangements in a manner that reallocate expected losses and residual returns among the variable interest holders,

·          Providing support to an entity that results in an implicit variable interest.

All other entities not deemed to be VIEs with which the Company has involvement are evaluated for consolidation under Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB) No. 51, “Consolidated Financial Statements,” and SFAS No. 94, “Consolidation of All Majority-Owned Subsidiaries” (SFAS 94).

Variable Interest Entities

        VIEs are entities defined in FIN 46-R as entities which either have a total equity investment at risk that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support or whose equity investors lack the characteristics of a controlling financial interest (i.e., ability to make significant decisions through voting rights, right to receive the expected residual returns of the entity, and obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity). Investors that finance the VIE through debt or equity interests, or other counterparties that provide other forms of support, such as guarantees, subordinated fee arrangements, or certain types of derivative contracts, are variable interest holders in the entity. The variable interest holder, if any, that will absorb a majority of the entity's expected losses, receive a majority of the entity's expected residual returns, or both, is deemed to be the primary beneficiary and must consolidate the VIE. Consolidation under FIN 46-R is based on expected losses and residual returns, which consider various scenarios on a probability-weighted basis. Consolidation of a VIE is, therefore, determined based primarily on variability generated in scenarios that are considered most likely to occur, rather than based on scenarios that are considered more remote. Certain variable interests may absorb significant amounts of losses or residual returns contractually, but if those scenarios are considered very unlikely to occur, they may not lead to consolidation of the VIE.

        All of these facts and circumstances are taken into consideration when determining whether the Company has variable interests that would deem it the primary beneficiary and, therefore, require consolidation of the related VIE or otherwise rise to the level where disclosure would provide useful information to the users of the Company's financial statements. In some cases, it is qualitatively clear based on the extent of the Company's involvement or the seniority of its investments that the Company is not the primary beneficiary of the VIE. In other cases, more detailed and quantitative analysis is required to make such a determination.

        FIN 46-R requires disclosure of the Company's maximum exposure to loss where the Company has "significant" variable interests in an unconsolidated VIE. FIN 46-R does not define "significant" and, as such, judgment is required. The Company

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generally considers the following types of involvement to be "significant":

•

Retaining any amount of debt financing (e.g., loans, notes, bonds, or other debt instruments) or an equity investment (e.g., common shares, partnership interests, or warrants) in any VIE where the Company has assisted with the structuring of the transaction;



•

Writing a "liquidity put" or other facility to support the issuance of short-term notes;



•

Writing credit protection (e.g., guarantees, letters of credit, credit default swaps or total return swaps where the Company receives the total return or risk on the assets held by the VIE); or



•

Certain transactions where the Company is the investment manager and receives variable fees for services.

        Thus, the Company's definition of "significant" involvement generally includes all variable interests held by the Company, even those where the likelihood of loss or the notional amount of exposure to any single legal entity is small. Involvement with a VIE as described above, regardless of the seniority or perceived risk of the Company's involvement, is included as significant. The Company believes that this more expansive interpretation of "significant" provides more meaningful and consistent information regarding its involvement in various VIE structures and provides more data for an independent assessment of the potential risks of the Company's involvement in various VIEs and asset classes.

        In various other transactions the Company may act as a derivative counterparty (for example, interest rate swap, cross-currency swap, or purchaser of credit protection under a credit default swap or total return swap where the Company pays the total return on certain assets to the SPE); may act as underwriter or placement agent; may provide administrative, trustee, or other services; or may make a market in debt securities or other instruments issued by VIEs. The Company generally considers such involvement, by itself, "not significant" under FIN 46-R.

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Variable Interest Entities

An entity is referred to as a variable interest entity (VIE) if it meets the criteria outlined in FASB Interpretation No. 46-R, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (revised December 2003)” (FIN 46-R), which are: (1) the entity has equity that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) the entity has equity investors that cannot make significant decisions about the entity’s operations or that do not absorb their proportionate share of the expected losses or receive the expected returns of the entity.

In addition, as specified in FIN 46-R, a VIE must be consolidated by the Company if it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE, which is the party involved with the VIE that has a majority of the expected losses or a majority of the expected residual returns or both.

Along with the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with these guidelines, the Company has significant variable interests in other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, certain collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), many structured finance transactions, and various investment funds.

However, these VIEs as well as all other unconsolidated VIEs are regularly monitored by the Company to determine if any reconsideration events have occurred that could cause its primary beneficiary status to change. These events include:

·          Additional purchases or sales of variable interests by Citigroup or an unrelated third party, which cause Citigroup’s overall variable interest ownership to change,

·          Changes in contractual arrangements in a manner that reallocate expected losses and residual returns among the variable interest holders,

·          Providing support to an entity that results in an implicit variable interest.

All other entities not deemed to be VIEs with which the Company has involvement are evaluated for consolidation under Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB) No. 51, “Consolidated Financial Statements,” and SFAS No. 94, “Consolidation of All Majority-Owned Subsidiaries” (SFAS 94).

Variable Interest Entities

An entity is referred to as a variable interest entity (VIE) if it meets the criteria outlined in FASB Interpretation No. 46-R, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (revised December 2003)” (FIN 46-R), which are: (1) the entity has equity that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) the entity has equity investors that cannot make significant decisions about the entity’s operations or that do not absorb their proportionate share of the expected losses or receive the expected returns of the entity.

In addition, as specified in FIN 46-R, a VIE must be consolidated by the Company if it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE, which is the party involved with the VIE that has a majority of the expected losses or a majority of the expected residual returns or both.

Along with the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with these guidelines, the Company has significant variable interests in other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, certain collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), many structured finance transactions, and various investment funds.

Variable Interest Entities

        FASB Interpretation No. 46-R, "Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities" (FIN 46-R) applies to those entities which have either a total equity investment that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support or whose equity investors lack the characteristics of a controlling financial interest (i.e., ability to make significant decisions through voting rights, rights to receive the expected residual returns of the entity, and obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity). Those investors who provide the additional support necessary to finance the VIE are variable interest holders in the entity. The variable interest holder, if any, that will absorb a majority of the entity's expected losses, receive a majority of the entity's expected residual returns, or both, is deemed to be the primary beneficiary and must consolidate the VIE.

        The following table represents the carrying amounts and classification of consolidated assets that are collateral for VIE obligations, including VIEs that were consolidated prior to the implementation of FIN 46-R under existing guidance and VIEs that the Company became involved with after July 1, 2003:

(1)

Reclassified to conform to the current period's presentation.

        The Company may provide various products and services to the VIEs. It may provide liquidity facilities, may be a party to derivative contracts with VIEs, may provide loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees to the VIEs, may be the investment manager, and may also have an ownership interest or other investment in certain VIEs. All of these facts and circumstances are taken into consideration when determining whether the Company has significant variable interests that would deem it the primary beneficiary and, therefore, require consolidation of the related VIE. In general, the investors in the obligations of consolidated VIEs have recourse only to the assets of the VIEs and do not have recourse to the Company, except where the Company has provided a guarantee to the investors or is the counterparty to a derivative transaction involving the VIE.

        The consolidated VIEs included in the table above represent hundreds of separate entities with which the Company is involved and include VIEs consolidated as a result of adopting FIN 46-R and FIN 46. Of the $66.9 billion and $54.7 billion of total assets of VIEs consolidated by the Company at September 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006, respectively, $17.7 billion and $39.2 billion represent structured transactions where the Company packages and securitizes assets purchased in the financial markets or from clients in order to create new security offerings and financing opportunities for clients; $46.9 billion and $13.1 billion represent investment vehicles that were established to provide a return to the investors in the vehicles; and $2.2 billion and

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$2.4 billion represent vehicles that hold lease receivables and equipment as collateral to issue debt securities, thus obtaining secured financing at favorable interest rates.

        In addition to the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with FIN 46-R, the Company has significant variable interests in certain other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include asset-backed commercial paper conduits, structured investment vehicles (SIVs), collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), structured finance transactions, and numerous investment funds. In addition to these VIEs, the Company issues preferred securities to third- party investors through trust vehicles as a source of funding and regulatory capital.

        The following table represents the total assets of unconsolidated VIEs where the Company has significant involvement:

Variable Interest Entities

An entity is referred to as a variable interest entity (VIE) if it meets the criteria outlined in FASB Interpretation No. 46-R, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (revised December 2003)” (FIN 46-R), which are: (1) the entity has equity that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) the entity has equity investors that cannot make significant decisions about the entity’s operations or that do not absorb the expected losses or receive the expected returns of the entity.

In addition, as specified in FIN 46-R, a VIE must be consolidated by the Company if it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE, which is the party involved with the VIE that has a majority of the expected losses or a majority of the expected residual returns or both.

Along with the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with these guidelines, the Company has significant variable interests in other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), many structured finance transactions, and various investment funds. All other entities not deemed to be VIEs, with which the Company has involvement, are evaluated for consolidation under Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB) No. 51, “Consolidated Financial Statements,” and SFAS. 94, “Consolidation of All Majority-Owned Subsidiaries” (SFAS 94).

Variable Interest Entities

        The following table represents the carrying amounts and classification of consolidated assets that are collateral for VIE obligations, including VIEs that were consolidated prior to the implementation of FIN 46-R under existing guidance and VIEs that the Company became involved with after July 1, 2003:

        The consolidated VIEs included in the table above represent hundreds of separate entities with which the Company is involved and include VIEs consolidated as a result of adopting FIN 46-R and FIN 46. Of the $46.6 billion and $47.5 billion of total assets of VIEs consolidated by the Company at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively, $36.0 billion and $37.2 billion represent structured transactions where the Company packages and securitizes assets purchased in the financial markets or from clients in order to create new security offerings and financing opportunities for clients; $8.2 billion and $7.6 billion represent investment vehicles that were established to provide a return to the investors in the vehicles; and $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion represent vehicles that hold lease receivables and equipment as collateral to issue debt securities, thus obtaining secured financing at favorable interest rates.

        The Company may provide various products and services to the VIEs. It may provide liquidity facilities, may be a party to derivative contracts with VIEs, may provide loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees to the VIEs, may be the investment manager, and may also have an ownership interest or other investment in certain VIEs. In general, the investors in the obligations of consolidated VIEs have recourse only to the assets of the VIEs and do not have recourse to the Company, except where the Company has provided a guarantee to the investors or is the counterparty to a derivative transaction involving the VIE.

        In addition to the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with FIN 46-R, the Company has significant variable interests in certain other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), structured finance transactions, and numerous investment funds. In addition to these VIEs, the Company issues preferred securities to third- party investors through trust vehicles as a source of funding and regulatory capital, which were deconsolidated during the first quarter of 2004. The Company's liabilities to the deconsolidated trust are included in long-term debt.

        The Company administers several third-party-owned, special purpose, multi-seller finance companies that purchase pools of trade receivables, credit cards, and other financial assets from third-party clients of the Company. As administrator, the Company provides accounting, funding, and operations services to these conduits. Generally, the Company has no ownership interest in the conduits. The sellers continue to service the transferred assets. The conduits' asset purchases are funded by issuing commercial paper and medium-term notes. The sellers absorb the first losses of the conduits by providing collateral in the form of excess assets. The Company, along with other financial institutions, provides liquidity facilities, such as commercial paper backstop lines of credit to the conduits. The Company also provides loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees. All fees are charged on a market basis.

        During 2003, to comply with FIN 46-R, many of the conduits issued "first loss" subordinated notes such that one third-party investor in each conduit would be deemed the primary beneficiary and would consolidate the conduit. At September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, total assets in unconsolidated conduits were $69.5 billion and $55.3 billion, respectively.

        The Company also packages and securitizes assets purchased in the financial markets in order to create new security offerings, including arbitrage CDOs and synthetic CDOs for institutional clients and retail customers, that match the clients' investment needs and preferences. Typically, these instruments diversify investors' risk to a pool of assets as compared with investments in an individual asset. The

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VIEs, which are issuers of CDO securities, are generally organized as limited liability corporations. The Company typically receives fees for structuring and/or distributing the securities sold to investors. In some cases, the Company may repackage the investment with higher rated debt CDO securities or U.S. Treasury securities to provide a greater or a very high degree of certainty of the return of invested principal. A third-party manager is typically retained by the VIE to select collateral for inclusion in the pool and then actively manage it, or, in other cases, only to manage work-out credits. The Company may also provide other financial services and/or products to the VIEs for market-rate fees. These may include: the provision of liquidity or contingent liquidity facilities; interest rate or foreign exchange hedges and credit derivative instruments; and the purchasing and warehousing of securities until they are sold to the SPE. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs under FIN 46-R due to its limited continuing involvement and, as a result, does not consolidate their assets and liabilities in its financial statements.

        In addition to the conduits discussed above, the following table represents the assets of unconsolidated VIEs where the Company has significant involvement:

        The Company has also established a number of investment funds as opportunities for qualified employees to invest in venture capital investments. The Company acts as investment manager to these funds and may provide employees with financing on both a recourse and non-recourse basis for a portion of the employees' investment commitments.

        In addition, the Company administers numerous personal estate trusts. The Company may act as trustee and may also be the investment manager for the trust assets.

        As mentioned above, the Company may, along with other financial institutions, provide liquidity facilities, such as commercial paper backstop lines of credit to the VIEs. The Company may be a party to derivative contracts with VIEs, may provide loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees to the VIEs, may be the investment manager, and may also have an ownership interest in certain VIEs. Although actual losses are not expected to be material, the Company's maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with VIEs that are not consolidated was $93 billion and $91 billion at September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. For this purpose, maximum exposure is considered to be the notional amounts of credit lines, guarantees, other credit support, and liquidity facilities, the notional amounts of credit default swaps and certain total return swaps, and the amount invested where Citigroup has an ownership interest in the VIEs. In addition, the Company may be party to other derivative contracts with VIEs. Exposures that are considered to be guarantees are also included in Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements on page 118.

113

Variable Interest Entities

        The following table represents the carrying amounts and classification of consolidated assets that are collateral for VIE obligations, including VIEs that were consolidated prior to the implementation of FIN 46-R under existing guidance and VIEs that the Company became involved with after July 1, 2003:

        The consolidated VIEs included in the table above represent hundreds of separate entities with which the Company is involved and include VIEs consolidated as a result of adopting FIN 46-R and FIN 46. Of the $48.9 billion and $47.5 billion of total assets of VIEs consolidated by the Company at June 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively, $37.0 billion and $37.2 billion represent structured transactions where the Company packages and securitizes assets purchased in the financial markets or from clients in order to create new security offerings and financing opportunities for clients; $9.4 billion and $7.6 billion represent investment vehicles that were established to provide a return to the investors in the vehicles; and $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion represent vehicles that hold lease receivables and equipment as collateral to issue debt securities, thus obtaining secured financing at favorable interest rates.

        The Company may provide various products and services to the VIEs. It may provide liquidity facilities, may be a party to derivative contracts with VIEs, may provide loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees to the VIEs, may be the investment manager, and may also have an ownership interest or other investment in certain VIEs. In general, the investors in the obligations of consolidated VIEs have recourse only to the assets of the VIEs and do not have recourse to the Company, except where the Company has provided a guarantee to the investors or is the counterparty to a derivative transaction involving the VIE.

        In addition to the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with FIN 46-R, the Company has significant variable interests in certain other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), structured finance transactions, and numerous investment funds. In addition to these VIEs, the Company issues preferred securities to third- party investors through trust vehicles as a source of funding and regulatory capital, which were deconsolidated during the first quarter of 2004. The Company's liabilities to the deconsolidated trust are included in long-term debt.

        The Company administers several third-party-owned, special purpose, multi-seller finance companies that purchase pools of trade receivables, credit cards, and other financial assets from third-party clients of the Company. As administrator, the Company provides accounting, funding, and operations services to these conduits. Generally, the Company has no ownership interest in the conduits. The sellers continue to service the transferred assets. The conduits' asset purchases are funded by issuing commercial paper and medium-term notes. The sellers absorb the first losses of the conduits by providing collateral in the form of excess assets. The Company, along with other financial institutions, provides liquidity facilities, such as commercial paper backstop lines of credit to the conduits. The Company also provides loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees. All fees are charged on a market basis.

        During 2003, to comply with FIN 46-R, many of the conduits issued "first loss" subordinated notes such that one third-party investor in each conduit would be deemed the primary beneficiary and would consolidate the conduit. At June 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, total assets in unconsolidated conduits were $57.6 billion and $55.3 billion, respectively.

        The Company also packages and securitizes assets purchased in the financial markets in order to create new security offerings, including arbitrage CDOs and synthetic CDOs for institutional clients and retail customers, that match

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the clients' investment needs and preferences. Typically, these instruments diversify investors' risk to a pool of assets as compared with investments in an individual asset. The VIEs, which are issuers of CDO securities, are generally organized as limited liability corporations. The Company typically receives fees for structuring and/or distributing the securities sold to investors. In some cases, the Company may repackage the investment with higher rated debt CDO securities or U.S. Treasury securities to provide a greater or a very high degree of certainty of the return of invested principal. A third-party manager is typically retained by the VIE to select collateral for inclusion in the pool and then actively manage it, or, in other cases, only to manage work-out credits. The Company may also provide other financial services and/or products to the VIEs for market-rate fees. These may include: the provision of liquidity or contingent liquidity facilities; interest rate or foreign exchange hedges and credit derivative instruments; and the purchasing and warehousing of securities until they are sold to the SPE. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs under FIN 46-R due to its limited continuing involvement and, as a result, does not consolidate their assets and liabilities in its financial statements.

        In addition to the conduits discussed above, the following table represents the assets of unconsolidated VIEs where the Company has significant involvement:

        The Company has also established a number of investment funds as opportunities for qualified employees to invest in venture capital investments. The Company acts as investment manager to these funds and may provide employees with financing on both a recourse and non-recourse basis for a portion of the employees' investment commitments.

        In addition, the Company administers numerous personal estate trusts. The Company may act as trustee and may also be the investment manager for the trust assets.

        As mentioned above, the Company may, along with other financial institutions, provide liquidity facilities, such as commercial paper backstop lines of credit to the VIEs. The Company may be a party to derivative contracts with VIEs, may provide loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees to the VIEs, may be the investment manager, and may also have an ownership interest in certain VIEs. Although actual losses are not expected to be material, the Company's maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with VIEs that are not consolidated was $89 billion and $91 billion at June 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. For this purpose, maximum exposure is considered to be the notional amounts of credit lines, guarantees, other credit support, and liquidity facilities, the notional amounts of credit default swaps and certain total return swaps, and the amount invested where Citigroup has an ownership interest in the VIEs. In addition, the Company may be party to other derivative contracts with VIEs. Exposures that are considered to be guarantees are also included in Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial Statements on page 113.

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Variable Interest Entities

        The following table represents the carrying amounts and classification of consolidated assets that are collateral for VIE obligations, including VIEs that were consolidated prior to the implementation of FIN 46-R under existing guidance and VIEs that the Company became involved with after July 1, 2003:

        The consolidated VIEs included in the table above represent hundreds of separate entities with which the Company is involved and includes VIEs consolidated as a result of adopting FIN 46-R and FIN 46. Of the $48.7 billion and $47.5 billion of total assets of VIEs consolidated by the Company at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively, $37.0 billion and $37.2 billion represent structured transactions where the Company packages and securitizes assets purchased in the financial markets or from clients in order to create new security offerings and financing opportunities for clients; $9.3 billion and $7.6 billion represent investment vehicles that were established to provide a return to the investors in the vehicles; and $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion represent vehicles that hold lease receivables and

89

equipment as collateral to issue debt securities, thus obtaining secured financing at favorable interest rates.

        The Company may provide various products and services to the VIEs. It may provide liquidity facilities, may be a party to derivative contracts with VIEs, may provide loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees to the VIEs, may be the investment manager, and may also have an ownership interest or other investment in certain VIEs. In general, the investors in the obligations of consolidated VIEs have recourse only to the assets of the VIEs and do not have recourse to the Company, except where the Company has provided a guarantee to the investors or is the counterparty to a derivative transaction involving the VIE.

        In addition to the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with FIN 46-R, the Company has significant variable interests in certain other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), structured finance transactions, and numerous investment funds. In addition to these VIEs, the Company issues preferred securities to third- party investors through trust vehicles as a source of funding and regulatory capital, which were deconsolidated during the first quarter of 2004. The Company's liabilities to the deconsolidated trust are included in long-term debt.

        The Company administers several third-party-owned, special purpose, multi-seller finance companies that purchase pools of trade receivables, credit cards, and other financial assets from third-party clients of the Company. As administrator, the Company provides accounting, funding, and operations services to these conduits. Generally, the Company has no ownership interest in the conduits. The sellers continue to service the transferred assets. The conduits' asset purchases are funded by issuing commercial paper and medium-term notes. The sellers absorb the first losses of the conduits by providing collateral in the form of excess assets. The Company, along with other financial institutions, provides liquidity facilities, such as commercial paper backstop lines of credit to the conduits. The Company also provides loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees. All fees are charged on a market basis.

        During 2003, to comply with FIN 46-R, many of the conduits issued "first loss" subordinated notes such that one third-party investor in each conduit would be deemed the primary beneficiary and would consolidate the conduit. At March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, total assets in unconsolidated conduits were $57.3 billion and $55.3 billion, respectively.

        The Company also packages and securitizes assets purchased in the financial markets in order to create new security offerings, including arbitrage CDOs and synthetic CDOs for institutional clients and retail customers, that match the clients' investment needs and preferences. Typically, these instruments diversify investors' risk to a pool of assets as compared with investments in an individual asset. The VIEs, which are issuers of CDO securities, are generally organized as limited liability corporations. The Company typically receives fees for structuring and/or distributing the securities sold to investors. In some cases, the Company may repackage the investment with higher rated debt CDO securities or U.S. Treasury securities to provide a greater or a very high degree of certainty of the return of invested principal. A third-party manager is typically retained by the VIE to select collateral for inclusion in the pool and then actively manage it, or, in other cases, only to manage work-out credits. The Company may also provide other financial services and/or products to the VIEs for market-rate fees. These may include: the provision of liquidity or contingent liquidity facilities; interest rate or foreign exchange hedges and credit derivative instruments; and the purchasing and warehousing of securities until they are sold to the SPE. The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs under FIN 46-R due to its limited continuing involvement and, as a result, does not consolidate their assets and liabilities in its financial statements.

        In addition to the conduits discussed above, the following table represents the assets of unconsolidated VIEs where the Company has significant involvement:

        The Company has also established a number of investment funds as opportunities for qualified employees to invest in venture capital investments. The Company acts as investment manager to these funds and may provide employees with financing on both a recourse and non-recourse basis for a portion of the employees' investment commitments.

        In addition, the Company administers numerous personal estate trusts. The Company may act as trustee and may also be the investment manager for the trust assets.

        As mentioned above, the Company may, along with other financial institutions, provide liquidity facilities, such as commercial paper backstop lines of credit to the VIEs. The Company may be a party to derivative contracts with VIEs, may provide loss enhancement in the form of letters of credit and other guarantees to the VIEs, may be the investment manager, and may also have an ownership interest in certain VIEs. Although actual losses are not expected to be material, the Company's maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with VIEs that are not consolidated was $90 billion and $91 billion at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. For this purpose, maximum exposure is considered to be the notional amounts of credit lines, guarantees, other credit support, and liquidity facilities, the notional amounts of credit default swaps and certain total return swaps, and the amount invested where Citigroup has an ownership interest in the VIEs. In addition, the Company may be party to other derivative contracts with VIEs. Exposures that are considered to be guarantees are also included in Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements on page 99.

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9.     Retirement Benefits

        The Company has several non-contributory defined benefit pension plans covering substantially all U.S. employees and has various defined benefit pension and termination indemnity plans covering employees outside the United States. The U.S. defined benefit plan provides benefits under a cash balance formula. Employees satisfying certain age and service requirements remain covered by a prior final pay formula. The Company also offers postretirement health care and life insurance benefits to certain eligible U.S. retired employees, as well as to certain eligible employees outside the United States. For information on the Company's Retirement Benefit Plans and Pension Assumptions, see Citigroup's 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

        The following table summarizes the components of the net expense recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005.

Variable Interest Entities

        An entity is referred to as a variable interest entity (VIE) if it meets the criteria outlined in FASB Interpretation No. 46-R, "Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (revised December 2003)" (FIN 46-R), which are: (1) the entity has equity that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, or (2) the entity has equity investors that cannot make significant decisions about the entity's operations or that do not absorb the expected losses or receive the expected returns of the entity.

        In addition, as specified in FIN 46-R, a VIE must be consolidated by the Company if it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE, which is the party involved with the VIE that has a majority of the expected losses or a majority of the expected residual returns or both.

        Along with the VIEs that are consolidated in accordance with these guidelines, the Company has significant variable interests in other VIEs that are not consolidated because the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These include multi-seller finance companies, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), many structured finance transactions, and various investment funds. All other entities not deemed to be VIEs, with which the Company has involvement, are evaluated for consolidation under ARB No. 51, "Consolidated Financial Statements," and SFAS No. 94, "Consolidation of All Majority-Owned Subsidiaries" (SFAS 94).