CITIBANK NA Was Downgraded to C from B-

This is our FINANCIAL STRENGTH rating, designed to measure the financial safety of the company itself. So please do not confuse it with INVESTMENT rating which would evaluate the risk and reward of investing in a company's stock or in a particular mutual fund.

The new rating is C. This means that the institution offers fair financial security, is currently stable, and will likely remain relatively healthy as long as the economic environment avoids the extremes of inflation or deflation. In a prolonged period of adverse economic or financial conditions, however, we feel this institution may encounter difficulties in maintaining its financial stability.

This downgrade represents a "yellow" caution warning. Assuming there are no other significant issues you are considering, here's what we suggest:

* If you're already doing business with this company, you can probably hold on temporarily, especially if there's a penalty or real inconvenience to shift. No matter what, we'll be watching it for you. So if it drops down further—or it goes back up—we'll let you know.

* If you're looking for new companies to do business with, we suggest you take this one off your shopping list. C is not a good rating. And we think it makes sense to limit your shopping primarily to companies boasting a Weiss financial strength rating of B+ or better.

That's it for now. We'll be in touch again as soon as there's a rating change in any of the companies you've placed on your Watchlist.

Best wishes,

The Weiss Watchdog Team