Citibank which bankrolled FIFA corruption now backs Britain Stronger in EU

Another Wall Street bank funds BSE camp

Citi Hands Six-Figure Sum To EU 'In' Campaign

Citi's donation means the total handed to the 'In' campaign by Wall Street banks has reached about £1.5m, Sky News learns. 13:10, UK, Wednesday 13 April 2016 By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Citigroup has become the fourth US bank to hand a big cash sum to the campaign to keep the UK in the European Union (EU), extending Wall Street's financial contribution to the cause just two months before the referendum.

Sky News has learnt that executives at Citi agreed to donate "significantly in excess of" £100,000 in the last few days to Britain Stronger in Europe (BSiE), adding the company's name to a list which already includes Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

The donation was made as part of a renewed fundraising drive led by Roland Rudd, the public relations supremo, and David Harding, the hedge fund manager, who have been acting as BSiE's co-treasurers. It comes just hours before BSiE is expected to be named by the Electoral Commission as the officially-designated group for the UK to remain in the EU.

Citi's decision to become financially involved in the campaign, which follows months of deliberation, reflects the wider anxiety among executives at Wall Street firms about the potential economic disruption that they believe the UK's exit from the EU would cause.

Citi employs thousands of people in the UK, principally at its offices in Canary Wharf in London. Sources said it had donated in the region of £200,000 and possibly as much as £250,000.

If the latter figure is correct, it would take the financial contribution from the quartet of US banks to £1.5m, a substantial proportion of the overall amount that BSiE is likely to raise. Goldman and JP Morgan are understood to have pledged £500,000 each, with Morgan Stanley donating about £250,000.

The news emerges as Wall Street banks and other businesses digest new guidance issued by the Electoral Commission about the scope of permitted activities once the referendum period formally gets underway on Friday. The rules governing official campaign spending mean that both the officially-designated 'In' and 'Out' groups can spend £7m in the final 10 weeks before the poll.

However, the Government angered pro-Brexit campaigners last week when it emerged it was spending more than £9m on a leaflet to explain to voters why it believed the UK should vote to remain in the EU. Citibank has been a long-standing advocate of the UK's EU membership.

James Bardrick, a senior executive at the bank, said last year that it "would have to operationally change the business and reallocate certain businesses back into the EU...[which would be] enormously costly and enormously inefficient”.

In addition to Lord Rose, Britain Stronger In Europe's board includes Baroness Brady, one of the stars of The Apprentice; Brendan Barber, the former secretary-general of the Trades Union Congress; and Lord Mandelson, the former Business Secretary. Citibank and BSiE declined to comment on Wednesday.