Citicorp to resume lending to third world

The Citicorp Bank America’s biggest bank has indicated its willingness to lend new money to developing countries, in spite of an increase in its provision for risky third world debts.
According to John S. Reed, Citicorp chairman, their bank would continue to support a proposal by US treasury secretary James Baker to work with commercial banks, the World Bank and the IMF for a long term solution to the third world debt crisis.
On May 19, the Citicorp’s Bank decided to increase its loan-loss reserves by three billion dollars (about N11.25 billion) to five billion dollars (about N18.75 billion) so as to provide security to their stockholders and depositors.
Citicorp, the holding company of Citibank took the lead of other US, banking institutions in increasing the loan-loss reserves.
He further urged the industrialised nations, the World Bank and the IMF to continue to ensure capital flow into the 1990’s to the developing countries which had made good progress towards changes in their economies structure.
On Brazilian intention to pay interest on about 68 billion dollars (about N225 billion) in medium and long-term foreign bank debts, he said he was not aware.
He hoped to seek ways to expand operations of Citicorp ad Citibank in Japan by increasing the number of its branches in Japan from the current six to 50 to100 and also look at the possibility of taking over Japanese Banks.