As part of a three-year commitment to U.S. small businesses, Citi today announced that the bank surpassed its $8 billion lending goal in 2012 by more than $1.6 billion.

Citi loaned a total of $9.6 billion to small businesses in 2012, a 21 percent increase from 2011, when Citi loaned $7.9 billion. Citi has substantially increased its small business lending in recent years, from $4.5 billion in 2009 and $6.0 billion in 2010.