"We would like you to have our credit card," Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill told Mr. Putin.
"I have been transferring my salary to Russia's Sberbank. But I'll think about your offer. Although I should calculate your interest rate," he said.
Mr. Putin expects the work of the international financial corporation, Citigroup, to help develop the Russian-U.S. economic partnership.
"The U.S. is a priority economic partner for us, and unfortunately, a lot remains to be done in the investment area," he said.
"In this respect, it would be instrumental if [our cooperation] were assisted by such significant financial institute as Citigroup," Mr. Putin said.
"According to my sources, you have about 800 Russian companies as your clients and several thousand [Russians] as depositors," he said.
"Russian economic performance testifies that the plans to expand your activities correspond to reality," Mr. Putin stressed.
We are quite enthusiastic about cooperation with Russia, Mr. Weill said. We hope to expand cooperation in the hi-tech sphere, and assist Russia's economic development.
Moreover, he continued, we hope that about 300,000 physical persons [from Russia] will have accounts in our bank by the end of this year.
Citigroup Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer also attended the meeting. "I am very pleased to see my old acquaintance Stanley Fischer here," Mr. Putin said. The president also remarked that he had agreed to meet Mr. Fischer after Mr. Fischer had left his high post in the IMF.
Citigroup appeared on the Russian market in 1994. It has private and corporate clients. Citigroup's branch, Citibank, ranks fifth in terms of revenues among Russian banks.
