Turning a vault into a bomb shelter: how Citigroup running its bank in Ukraine
A piece of shrapnel from a Russian missile hangs on the wall of Citigroup banker Alexander McWhorter’s office in Kyiv. He got it from a client whose factory was struck early in the war, a token of their long relationship and their plans to rebuild. Two years into the Ukrainian war, Citigroup is the only U.S.
bank around, navigating a sometimes treacherous landscape. McWhorter, the bank’s top executive in the country, juggles keeping Citi’s staff alive with the role of helping giant companies such as McDonald’s and Unilever stay open. Citigroup’s identity is based on being a global bank.
The world’s biggest companies turn to it to store money and pay employees across their empires. Few rivals can match the number of countries where Citi can operate (some 160) and the reach is at the center of Chief Executive Jane Fraser’s plans to strengthen the bank. That footprint also sometimes puts Citigroup in the way of war and turmoil, dictators and disasters, economic booms and busts.
Today, Ukraine is in a perilous spot, and so is Citigroup. The bank staff have all survived but face a constant risk of Russian attacks and regularly hunker down in a bank vault in Kyiv. Its loans are to companies that could be blown up or forced to flee tanks.
Its profits are trapped inside the county by martial law. American support has turned into a political debate, but the House of Representatives passed a bill to send $60 billion in fresh aid. Ukraine’s chances of pushing Russia out have been sliding, and the aid is crucial for its defense.
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