Top Banking Brands - Citi Profile
Citi
Brand Strapline Let's get it done
Offices: 12,000
Employees: 358,000
Country: United States
Citi Brand 2009 - Facts & Figures
2009 |
2008 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brand Value |
$9,810m |
Brand Value |
$27,817m |
|
Brand Ranking |
7 |
Brand Ranking |
2 |
|
Market Cap |
$36,498m |
Market Cap |
$147,041m |
|
Brand Value / Market Cap (%) |
27% |
Brand Value / Market Cap (%) |
19% |
|
Brand Rating |
A |
Brand Rating |
AA |
|
History of the Company
Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate Travelers Group on the 7th of April, 1998. Citigroup has the world's largest financial services network, and it is the world's largest bank by revenues as of 2008. The bank, which had huge losses during the global financial crisis of 2008, was rescued in November 2008 in a massive bailout by the U.S. government. Its largest shareholders include funds from the Middle East and Singapore.The City Bank of New York was chartered by New York State on the 16th of June, 1812, with $2 million of capital. Serving a group of New York merchants, the bank opened for business on the 14th of September, and Samuel Osgood was elected as the first President of the company. The company's name was changed to The National City Bank of New York in 1865 after it joined the new U.S. national banking system, and it became the largest American bank by 1895. It became the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 1913, and the following year it inaugurated the first overseas branch of a U.S. bank in Buenos Aires. The 1918 purchase of U.S. overseas bank International Banking Corporation helped it become the first American bank to surpass $1 billion in assets, and it became the largest commercial bank in the world in 1929. As it grew, the bank became a leading innovator in financial services, becoming the first major U.S. bank to offer compound interest on savings (1921); unsecured personal loans (1928); customer checking accounts (1936) and the negotiable certificate of deposit (1961).
The bank changed its name to The First National City Bank of New York in 1955, which was shortened to First National City Bank on the 150th anniversary of the company's foundation in 1962. Later to become MasterCard, the bank introduced its First National City Charge Service credit card - popularly known as the "Everything card" - in 1967.
In 1976, under the leadership of CEO Walter Wriston, First National City Bank (and its holding company First National City Corporation) was renamed as Citibank, N.A. (and Citicorp, respectively). Shortly afterward, the bank launched the Citicard, which pioneered the use of 24-hour ATMs. In 1984 Citi became a founding member of the CHAPS clearing house in London. The next 14 years saw Citibank become the largest bank in the United States, the largest issuer of credit cards and charge cards in the world, and expand its global reach to over 90 countries.
Prior to its merger with Citigroup, Travelers Group was a diverse group of financial concerns that had been brought together under CEO Sandy Weill. Its roots came from Commercial Credit, a subsidiary of Control Data Systems that was taken private by Weill in November 1986 after taking charge of the company earlier that year. Two years later, Weill mastered the buyout of Primerica - a conglomerate that had already bought life insurer A L Williams as well as stock broker Smith Barney. The new company took the Primerica name, and employed a "cross-selling" strategy such that each of the entities within the parent company aimed to sell each other's services. Its non-financial businesses were spun-off.
On April 6, 1998, the merger between Citicorp and Travelers Group was announced to the world, creating a $140 billion firm with assets of almost $700 billion. The deal would enable Travelers to market mutual funds and insurance to Citicorp's retail customers while giving the banking divisions access to an expanded client base of investors and insurance buyers. The company spun off its Travelers Property and Casualty insurance underwriting business in 2002.
Geography and Products
The Bank's operations are primaraly based in the USA. However Citi also has operations elsewhere in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe. The banks major offering is retail banking, which has grown as a proportion of the overall business over the last 3 years. Fig1. Citi Group Product Segmentation 2009 - Click on image to Expand into another window |
 Fig2. Citi Group Geographic Segmentation 2009 - Click on image to Expand into another window |
History of the Brand
While the bank has been known as "citi" in one form or another since 1976, it has appeared in several guises (Citigroup, Citibank, Citicorp) sometimes simultaneously. The 1998 merger with Travelers led to a change in the corporate logo to include the Travellers umbrella. Subsequent to the sale of Travellers in 2002 Citi underwent a further rebrand, taking on its current logo and unifying the use of the "Citi" name. Citi has recently rebranded the Banco Cuscutlan and Banco Uno brands, which operated in El Salvidor, to the Citi brand.Performance of the Brand
In February 2008, HSBC replaced Citi as the world's most valuable banking brand in the 2008 Banking Brands Report produced by Brand Finance. Citi's brand value fell further during 2008, below that of Bank of America, according the Brand Finance Top 100 Brands Global Update Report, released in response to the global downturn.Citi has been one of the primary casualties of the 2008 financial crisis. In an environment where confidence in the banking industry amongst consumers is low, trust in brands that have failed publicly has fallen even more steeply. The financial position of the bank also means that it is less able to leverage its brand, as it is under more pressure than most to protect its balance sheet.
Citi Sub-brands
BanamexBanamex was formed onthe 2nd of June 1884 from the merger of two banks, Banco Nacional Mexicano and Banco Mercantil Mexicano, two banks that had operated since the beginning of 1882. The newly founded bank had branches in Mérida, Veracruz, Puebla, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosi, and opened a branch in Guadalajara. Banamex is Mexico's second largest bank behind BBVA Bancomer. The Banamex Financial Group was purchased by Citigroup in August 2001 for $12.5 billion USD. It continues to operate as a Citigroup subsidiary.
Citi Smith Barney
Citi smith barney is a division of Citigroup Global Capital Markets, that provides brokerage, investment banking and asset management services to corporations, governments and individuals around the world. Smith Barney itself was founded in 1873. Citi has opted to dual brand in this specialised sector in order to continue to gain equity from the Smith Barney name. The current logo was designed subsequent to the citi rebrand in 2002.
Egg
Egg is a UK-based internet banking brand, acquired by citi in 2007. Egg was established in 1996, and is now the world's largest internet bank in that it is only possible to operate an Egg account over the internet, or via their call centre. Egg specialises in savings, credit cards and loans but also offers mortgage and insurance products. Because of its unique offering, Citi has maintained the Egg brand, in the same way that HSBC has maintained the First Direct brand.
Citi Videos
Citibank ID Theft SolutionsCitibank Identity Theft Thelma & Louise
Citibank Big Boy Commercials
Citi Sources
Citi Group - WikipediaCiti Group Data PDF
Citi Group Corporate Governance
Citi Group Data PDF