Citigroup Lauded for Lending to Low-Income Immigrants

Citigroup (NYSE: C) is being lauded for its micro-lending work.

The nation's third-biggest bank has received the E Pluribus Unum Prizes' Corporate Leadership Award for its backing of Citizenship Maryland, a program that loans money to legal permanent residents who apply for U.S. citizenship.

The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank that coordinates the awards, announced the accolade Thursday.

Citigroup provided staff and funding to launch the initiative, which helps eligible participants pay the $680 fee that accompanies the application for naturalization that immigrants who apply to become U.S. citizens file.

The bank will be honored at a ceremony in Baltimore on Sept. 24 at the annual National Immigrant Integration Conference, which brings together immigrant advocates from across the country.

"Citi is committed to working with community and public partners to assist eligible, aspiring citizens in establishing both a national identity and a financial identity, which is essential to fully realizing their American dream," Bob Annibale, Citigroup's global director of community development and microfinance, said in a news release.

As part of the program, applicants can borrow the filing fee via a nonprofit community organization that administers the loans, which carry an interest rate between 9% and 12% and come due six months from the date of disbursal.

Borrowers, who build credit histories as they repay their loans, also participate in a financial education curriculum that emphasizes savings. At final payment, Citigroup deposits the $25 loan application fee into a savings account on behalf of the borrower to encourage future savings.

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