BOSTON & NEW YORK, May 02, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT)
today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to
sell CitiStreet, a benefits servicing business, to ING Group in an
all-cash transaction valued at $900 million. CitiStreet is a joint
venture formed in 2000, which is owned 50 percent each by Citi and
State Street. The acquisition is expected to close, pending customary
closing conditions, by the end of the third quarter of this year.

CitiStreet, a leading benefits services company in the United
States and Australia, provides a range of recordkeeping and
administrative services to more than 16,000 plans and 12 million
participants. Headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, CitiStreet has
more than $262 billion in assets under administration as of March 31,
2008 and approximately 3,700 employees.

"CitiStreet is an industry leader, but retirement plan record
keeping and administrative services are not strategic priorities for
us," said Charles D. Johnston, President of Citi Global Wealth
Management. "Smith Barney remains committed to serving corporate and
business clients with retirement plans and other institutional
offerings and we will work closely with ING and State Street to ensure
an orderly transition for clients and employees."

"In the eight years since its launch, CitiStreet has had steady
growth and become a leading benefits servicing provider," said Ronald
E. Logue, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, State Street
Corporation. "This transaction recognizes the strong business we built
while enabling us to focus resources on businesses that are more
closely aligned with our long-term strategy."

Today's action is consistent with Citi CEO Vikram Pandit's focus
on divesting non-core assets and strategically reallocating capital
throughout the organization. The action enables State Street to more
effectively pursue opportunities that will continue to build on its
global franchise focused on serving institutional investors.

Citi is advised on this transaction by its Institutional Clients
Group and State Street is advised by Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200
million customer accounts and does business in more than 100
countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and
institutions with a broad range of financial products and services,
including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment
banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major
brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney,
Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at
www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

State Street Corporation

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is the world's leading
provider of financial services to institutional investors including
investment servicing, investment management and investment research
and trading. With $15 trillion in assets under custody and $2 trillion
in assets under management at March 31, 2008, State Street operates in
26 countries and more than 100 geographic markets worldwide. For more
information, visit State Street's web site at www.statestreet.com.

SOURCE: Citigroup Inc.

Citi
Media
Alex Samuelson, 212-783-2781
or
Investors
Scott Freidenrich, 212-559-2718
or
Fixed Income Investors
Maurice Raichelson, 212-559-5091
or
State Street Corporation
Media
Arlene Roberts, 617-664-3933
or
Investors
Kelley MacDonald, 617-664-2888

Copyright Business Wire 2008