Does Citi support Israel?

Opened a representative office in Tel Aviv in 1996 and in July 2000 became the first international bank to receive a full Israeli banking license. Citi describes itself as having "the largest presence of any foreign financial institution in Israel," serving leading Israeli corporations and institutions; Israel's official disclosures to the SEC list Citibank N.A. as one of only four foreign bank branches operating in the country.

Established its first Innovation Lab in Tel Aviv in 2011, developing AI, security, data-intelligence and trading technology for Citi globally; in November 2013 it added Citi's first accelerator program anywhere in the world, a fintech accelerator for Israeli startups (four-month cohorts of ten companies with free offices and Citi mentorship). By 2018 the bank employed more than 300 people in Israel and some 80 accelerator alumni had raised over $550 million.

Citi Ventures, Citigroup's corporate venture arm, took part in the $44 million Series B of ChargeAfter, an Israeli-founded point-of-sale financing company whose R&D centre is in Tel Aviv and whose head office is in New York. The round, announced on 22 March 2022, was led by Israeli insurer The Phoenix, with Banco Bradesco, MUFG and existing investors alongside Citi Ventures. The $44 million is the size of the round, not Citi's contribution, which was not disclosed. This is a venture investment, not a donation.

On October 10, 2023, CEO Jane Fraser announced the Citi Foundation would provide $1 million "to humanitarian organizations operating in Israel"; a follow-up note on October 22 identified the recipient as food-rescue nonprofit Leket Israel. The foundation separately gave an additional $1 million, split between UNICEF and Save the Children, for the broader regional humanitarian crisis. The money is the corporate foundation's, not shareholder or client funds.

In a firm-wide note, CEO Jane Fraser wrote: "I know you are all as horrified as I am by the brutality of the terrorist attack on Israeli civilians over the weekend," praising Citi's Israeli employees. Fortune reported that Fraser's early note affirmed support for Israel, while later communications balanced the message as the crisis spread to Gaza and neighboring countries where Citi also operates. These are executive communications, not donations.

Citi was named among the investors in the $12 million seed round of Statement, a Tel Aviv-based cash-flow and liquidity management startup, announced on 18 October 2023, eleven days after the 7 October attack. Glilot Capital Partners led the round, with Citi, Mensch Capital Partners, Titan Capital and Operator Partners participating; Statement said its product development, most of its employees and all of its intellectual property are in Israel. Citi's own share was not disclosed, and the reporting names only "Citi" without identifying which Citigroup entity invested.

Citi Retail Services, Citigroup's North American retail-cards arm, selected the Lending Hub platform of Israeli fintech ChargeAfter as a technology provider for its Citi Pay family of digital-first payment products, announced by ChargeAfter on 6 February 2024. ChargeAfter's R&D centre is in Tel Aviv. Neither company disclosed the value; Calcalist's CTech wrote that the agreement is believed to be worth millions of dollars over the coming years. Citi is the paying customer here, which is commerce, not support.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. was one of five underwriters (with BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan) of the State of Israel's $5 billion international bond offering that financed the state budget during the Gaza war. Research by Profundo for BankTrack/PAX identified Citi among seven Western banks that underwrote $19.4 billion of Israeli government bonds between October 2023 and January 2025.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. was one of five underwriters — with BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities plc — of the State of Israel's $6 billion international bond offering, Israel's first debt raising of 2026. Under the underwriting agreement dated 6 January 2026, Citi severally agreed to purchase $450 million of the 4.500% bonds due 2031, $400 million of the 5.000% bonds due 2036 and $350 million of the 5.875% bonds due 2056 — $1.2 billion of the $6 billion in all. Israeli financial daily Bizportal reported demand of about $36 billion, about six times the size of the offering, and a weighted spread of about 102 basis points over US Treasuries against about 154 in Israel's 2024 dollar issue; separately, the accountant general at Israel's finance ministry said about 300 investors from more than 30 countries took part in the issuance. Underwriting is a paid service, not a donation; the figures are the size of the offering and of Citi's purchase commitment.