Op-Eds & Blogs

ARGUMENT

An expert's point of view on a current event.

America Needs a Great Opening

Why Washington should focus on recruiting the best talent from around the world.

By Gregory J. Fleming, president and chief executive officer of Rockefeller Capital Management.

Foreign Policy.com, AUGUST 16, 2022, 5:18 PM

An American flag billows in the wind as immigrants stand and take the oath of allegiance to the United States during a naturalization ceremony at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Sept. 15, 2017.

An American flag billows in the wind as immigrants stand and take the oath of allegiance to the United States during a naturalization ceremony at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Sept. 15, 2017. DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES

When U.S. President Joe Biden proposed welcoming 100,000 war refugees from Ukraine, several commentators wondered why Washington had failed to do the same for tens of thousands of Afghan allies left behind to face the Taliban. Such debates tend to portray the United States as unable to cope with more people. There is, in fact, plenty of room—and need—for more immigrants in an American economy suffering from an acute and worsening labor shortage.

America Has a Surplus in Services

Arguments about the balance of trade often focus only on goods. That misses half the equation.

By Michael L. Corbat

The Wall Street Journal Nov. 13, 2018 7:10 pm ET

When future historians look back on the present period of populism and protectionism, smart commentators are likely to observe that much of the hostility was fueled by a simple problem: Both sides couldn’t agree on what they were arguing about. Setting aside whether trade deficits are good, bad or immaterial to any nation’s prosperity, populists and establishmentarians talk past each other because they can’t agree on what a trade deficit is—or what it isn’t.

Much of the hand-wringing over persistent trade deficits is rooted in the dramatic decline in American manufacturing over the past three decades. From January 1989 to January 2018, the number of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. declined by about 5.5 million. The Census Bureau has also determined that the U.S. lost more than 75,000 factories and workshops between 1989 and 2014, the last year for which data are available.

Citi CEO: Banks must have the courage to walk away from deals that are bad for the climate

By Michael Corbat for CNN Business Perspectives

Published 10:49 AM EDT, Wed August 19, 2020

Editor’s Note: Michael Corbat is CEO of Citi. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

In the early days of the global pandemic, we got a glimpse of what progress in the fight against climate change could look like. With lockdowns keeping cars off the road and causing office buildings to shutter and industry to slow down, air pollution temporarily decreased over cities from Los Angeles to Mumbai.

But here’s the rub: It’s unlikely these reductions in air pollution will continue as global economies reopen. What we need is systemic change — dictated by government policy, supported by science and powered by the resources and innovation of the private sector.

Businesses, especially those in the financial sector like us, can have an enormous positive impact on the climate movement. By transforming energy systems, industrial processes, land use, buildings, transport and other infrastructure so they are more sustainable, we could simultaneously create thousands of new jobs and help propel a post-pandemic recovery.

Why Trade Is Evolving, Not Going Away

By Francisco Aristeguieta, CEO, Citigroup Asia Pacific

MILKEN INSTITUTE THE POWER OF IDEAS - ASIA SUMMIT 2018

Anyone focused exclusively on the bold headlines and market moves of 2018 can be forgiven for concluding that trade is doing more than just rattling markets. To some, these moves signal the demise of an economic framework based on trade and globalization, which has underpinned economic growth and progress for decades.

Overseeing the Asia Pacific region, and responsible for our fast-growing franchise in some of the world’s most dynamic markets, I am inclined to take a less apocalyptic view.

At Citi, we recognize that changes in trade policy—both real and imagined—are driving turbulence in global markets. But our outlook is that trade and globalization will not go away or even dramatically diminish. 

We envision trade flows will adapt and evolve to be more geographically diverse. They will shift towards markets where opportunities and costs are attractive, and local technologies and capabilities seem worthy of greater investment.

Transparency Is Key to Reaching Equality and Shared Prosperity

By Michael Corbat, CEO Citigroup

MILKEN INSTITUTE THE POWER OF IDEAS July 15, 2019

Earlier this year, Citi decided to be transparent about a statistic I’ve described as “disappointing” and “ugly:” Citi’s unadjusted or “raw” pay gap for women and US minorities, which measures the difference in median total compensation when we don’t adjust for factors including job function, level of seniority, and geography.

Our analysis showed that at Citi, the median pay for women globally is 71 percent of the median for men; the median pay for US minorities is 93 percent of the median for non-minorities.

For us, the data reaffirmed the importance of the goals we announced last year to increase our representation of women and US minorities in senior and higher-paying roles at Citi. That is the only way that we will effectively reduce the difference in our raw pay gap numbers over time. The decision to disclose our raw numbers sent a clear message that we’re willing to confront this challenge head on.

Citi's Inaugural Green Bond Issuance

February 05, 2019

Val Smith, Chief Sustainability Officer, Citi

As a founding member of the Green Bonds Principles and leading arranger and underwriter in the green bonds market, Citi has been at the forefront of helping our clients finance sustainability initiatives with innovative green and sustainability bond structures. Our role supporting and evolving this burgeoning market is just one reflection of our ongoing efforts to incorporate sustainability into our business. It's become a key component of our engagement with clients and investors.

On January 22, we were excited to announce the issuance of Citi's inaugural green bond, for €1 billion 3-year fixed rate notes. Our first green bond will finance renewable energy, sustainable transportation, water quality and conservation, energy efficiency and green building projects financed as part of our $100 Billion Environmental Finance Goal. This issuance builds on our previous commitment to finance and facilitate $100 billion within 10 years to support environmental solutions and accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon economy. We are on track to achieve that $100 Billion Environmental Finance Goal – as of 2017, we had financed or facilitated $57 billion towards environmental finance activities, and our progress in 2018 will be reported in our upcoming annual report and global citizenship report. We also recently announced a new commitment to source renewable power for 100% of our company's global energy needs by 2020. Both initiatives are part of Citi's Sustainable Progress Strategy, which sets out our guiding principles, priorities and ambitions in environmental finance and environmental and social risk management, including our own operations and supply chain. It also forms part of our contribution to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).