Mission statement

We align business objectives with stakeholder views, adjusting our priorities to meet shifts in opinion and changing economic conditions. Our priorities are to:

• Treat customers fairly and support them in times of financial difficulty
• Lead the industry in developing and implementing standards to manage the environmental and social risks of our investments
• Help address climate change, directing $50 billion over 10 years
• Provide access to financial services to those who would otherwise be excluded, through our microfinance business
• Improve financial capability by contributing $200 million over 10 years

In addition to these priorities, we aim to:

• Recruit and retain a diverse and engaged team of people around the world
• Reduce the environmental footprint of our operations
• Encourage suppliers to meet our sustainability guidelines
• Support our Citizenship priorities through community investment and the Citi Foundation

Company history

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. As of 2008, the bank is the world's largest by revenues. Although Citigroup incurred huge losses during the global financial crisis of 2008, it 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.

Brand history

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.

Strapline

“Citi never sleeps” is the current strapline attached the group logo. It attempts to capture the diligence and perseverance of the streamlined firm.

Advertising

Sponsorships

In order to help raise its brand awareness Citigroup currently sponsors the US Olympics and Paralympics teams as well as the US Olympic Committee.