Citigroup Closed-End Funds Issue Statement
25 Octobre 2004 - 11:57PM
PR Newswire (US)
Citigroup Closed-End Funds Issue Statement NEW YORK, Oct. 25
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The following Citigroup closed-end funds
-- Citigroup Investments Corporate Loan Fund Inc., High Income
Opportunity Fund Inc., Intermediate Muni Fund, Inc., Managed High
Income Portfolio Inc., Managed Municipals Portfolio Inc., Municipal
High Income Fund Inc., Real Estate Income Fund Inc., Zenix Income
Fund Inc., Salomon Brothers Capital and Income Fund Inc., Salomon
Brothers Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc., Salomon Brothers Emerging
Markets Floating Rate Fund Inc., Salomon Brothers Emerging Markets
Income Fund Inc., Salomon Brothers Emerging Markets Income Fund II
Inc., Salomon Brothers Global High Income Fund Inc., Salomon
Brothers Global Partners Income Fund Inc., Salomon Brothers
Inflation Management Fund Inc., Salomon Brothers Municipal Partners
Fund Inc., Salomon Brothers Municipal Partners Fund II Inc., The
Salomon Brothers Fund Inc., Salomon Brothers High Income Fund Inc.,
Salomon Brothers High Income Fund II Inc., Salomon Brothers 2008
Worldwide Dollar Government Term Trust Inc., and Salomon Brothers
Worldwide Income Fund Inc. -- today issued the following statement:
In connection with an investigation previously disclosed by
Citigroup, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) has notified Citigroup Asset Management (CAM), the Citigroup
business unit that includes the funds' investment manager and other
investment advisory companies; Citicorp Trust Bank (CTB), an
affiliate of CAM; Thomas W. Jones, the former CEO of CAM; and two
other individuals, one of whom is an employee and the other of whom
is a former employee of CAM, that the SEC Staff is considering
recommending a civil injunctive action and/or an administrative
proceeding against each of them relating to the creation and
operation of an internal transfer agent unit to serve various
CAM-managed funds. In 1999, CTB entered the transfer agent
business. CTB hired an unaffiliated subcontractor to perform some
of the transfer agent services. The subcontractor, in exchange, had
signed a separate agreement with CAM in 1998 that guaranteed
investment management revenue to CAM and investment banking revenue
to a CAM affiliate. The subcontractor's business was later taken
over by PFPC, and at that time the revenue guarantee was eliminated
and a one-time payment was made by the subcontractor to a CAM
affiliate. CAM did not disclose the revenue guarantee when the
board of various CAM- managed funds hired CTB as transfer agent.
Nor did CAM disclose to the boards of the CAM-managed funds the
one-time payment received by the subcontractor when it was made. In
addition, the SEC Staff has indicated that it is considering action
based on the adequacy of the disclosures made to the fund boards
that approved the transfer agency arrangement, CAM's initiation and
operation of and compensation for the transfer agent business and
CAM's retention of, and agreements with, the unaffiliated
sub-transfer agent. Citigroup is cooperating fully in the
investigation and will seek to resolve the matter in discussions
with the SEC Staff. Although there can be no assurance, Citigroup
does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse
effect on the funds whose symbols are listed below. As previously
disclosed, CAM has already agreed to pay the applicable funds,
primarily through fee waivers, a total of approximately $17 million
(plus interest) that is the amount of the revenue received by
Citigroup relating to the revenue guarantee. The funds did not
implement the contractual arrangement described above and therefore
will not receive any portion of such payment. Symbols: EDF, EFL,
EHI, EMD, ESD, HIF, HIO, HIX, GDF, IMF, MHF, MHY, MMU, MNP, MPT,
RIT, SBF, SBG, SBI, SBW, SCD, TLI, ZIF DATASOURCE: Citigroup Asset
Management CONTACT: Brenda Grandell, Director, Closed-End Funds,
+1-212-291-3775, or Edward Giltenan, Head of Public Relations,
+1-212-559-6746, both of Citigroup Asset Management
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