Citigroup (NYSE:C) Launching $200 Million Small Business Fund

Citigroup (NYSE:C) CEO Vikram Pandit said in a recent interview that the bank will soon put into motion a $200 million small business fund which will offer loans to help small businesses in lower and medium income communities.

The targeted focus of the loans will be charter schools and service institutions which the bank usually hasn’t done much business with in the past.

Dubbed the ‘Communities at Work Fund,’ it’ll be marketed by Opportunity Finance Network, a group of 160 financial institutions, while being managed by Calvert Foundation.

Pandit said in an interview in the Wall Street Journal that it was also an opportunity: “Given that we’re not the largest retail commercial bank in the US and that there are many which are much larger than us, we’re doing everything we can to extend our reach.”

Normally most of these types of small business loans are used to help business start-ups like translation services, restaurants and bakeries, among other sectors where a community may be under-served in.

Pandit added it will not only help the bank but aid communities that are in need of a number of services which a number of growing small businesses can help meet.

The size of the loans will range from $14,000 to $500,000.