None of this would possible, of course, without the 760 qualified and talented employees we have working in Citibank and the appetite for risk-taking that defines Citibank. We are in the business of taking and managing risk while providing structures and solutions to match our relationship needs. In both the corporate and the consumer banking fields, Citibank offers a full range of services. Citibank has been the first to provide most of the banking services we take for granted today. It has also made major contributions to the growth and the development of the Korean economy.
Facts speak for themselves.
For last six consecutive years, Citibank has received the Euromoney award for the best foreign bank operating in Korea. In 1980, we financed Korean construction companies to the sum of billions of dollars through bonds, letters of credit and progress payments. We also financed projects in the Middle East for Korea corporations when they started their program of international expansion. In 1986, we were the first foreign bank to offer consumer-banking services and, in 1989, we began private banking. It took us several years before we began to make profits, but our commitment never wavered.