Finance · Profile from Finance Research Companion
Citigroup Inc.
The most global of the big US banks, created in 1998 when Sandy Weill's Travelers Group merged with John Reed's Citicorp in a deal that broke the Glass-Steagall wall between banking, securities and insurance before the law was changed to allow it. Citigroup was the template for the "financial supermarket", then the largest bailout case of 2008 ($45bn of TARP capital and a loss-sharing guarantee on ~$301bn of assets), then a fifteen-year exercise in shrinking, selling and fixing: Citi Holdings, the 2020 Revlon wire error and consent orders, Jane Fraser's exit from most international consumer banking, the 2023–24 reorganisation into five businesses, and the 2025–26 sale of half of Banamex. By late 2026 it was earning a return on tangible common equity of ~11–12%, still below JPMorgan and Wells Fargo but at its best level in years.
At a glance
- Founded
- City Bank of New York chartered June 16, 1812; Citigroup formed October 8, 1998 by the merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group
- Founders / builders
- Moses Taylor and James Stillman (19th-century City Bank); Walter Wriston and John Reed (Citicorp, 1967–1998); Sanford "Sandy" Weill (Travelers, Citigroup chair/CEO 1998–2003)
- Headquarters
- 388 Greenwich Street, New York
- Ownership / structure
- Public, NYSE: C; bank holding company (financial holding company under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act); main bank subsidiary Citibank, N.A.; a US global systemically important bank (G-SIB)
- Leadership (2026)
- Jane Fraser, CEO since March 2021 and board chair since October 2025 (reported); John Dugan, lead independent director; CFO (verify current holder, Mark Mason held the post 2019–2025/26)
- Segment
- Global universal bank: transaction services, markets, investment banking, wealth, US cards and retail banking; operations or clients in ~160 countries and jurisdictions (company)
- Scale
- Total assets ~$2.6–2.7tn (2025–26, verify); ~$1.3tn+ of deposits (verify); headcount reduced from ~240,000 (2023) toward ~180,000–200,000 after restructuring and divestitures (verify)
- Revenue and profit
- 2024: revenue $80.7bn, net income $12.7bn. 2025: revenue $85.2bn, net income $14.3bn, reported ROTCE 7.7% (8.8% adjusted for a Russia loss on sale and a Banamex goodwill impairment). Q3 2026: revenue $23.8bn (+8%), net income $5.2bn, EPS $2.85, ROTCE 11.5%, CET1 12.8% (company results)
- Capital / bailout history
- $45bn of TARP capital (2008: $25bn CPP + $20bn TIP); loss-sharing guarantee on a ~$301bn asset pool (announced as $306bn); government stake converted to common in 2009 and sold by December 2010 at a reported profit to taxpayers
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Travelers–Citicorp merger (1998); conduct scandals and the 2005 Fed acquisition freeze; losing Wachovia to Wells Fargo (2008); TARP bailout and asset guarantee (2008–09); Citi Holdings and the Smith Barney wind-down (2009–17); Revlon wire and 2020 consent orders; Fraser's exit from 14 consumer markets (2021–26); five-segment reorganisation and ~20,000 job cuts (2023–24); Banamex stake sales (2025–26)
10 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1998
Travelers Citicorp Merger
Merger
2002
Enron WorldCom and the Acquisition Freeze
Regulatory settlement (series of conduct settlements and a supervisory sanction)
2008
TARP Bailout and Asset Guarantee
Bailout
2008
Wachovia Deal Lost to Wells Fargo
Acquisition (announced, then lost)
2009
Citi Holdings and Smith Barney Wind Down
Restructuring / divestiture
2016
Costco Co Brand Card Win
Partnership (co-brand card and portfolio acquisition)
2020
Revlon Wire and Consent Orders
Operational failure / regulatory settlement
2021
Fraser Exit of International Consumer Markets
Divestiture (programme of sales and wind-downs)
2023
Five Segment Reorganisation and Job Cuts
Restructuring
2025
Banamex Stake Sales and IPO Plan
Divestiture / IPO (planned)