April 6, 1998 - Citibank announced agreement to merge with Travelers Insurance; $166 billion merger largest ever to date. Viewed as a new era in finance, a one-stop shop for consumer and corporate customers; October 8, 1998 - completed, renamed Citigroup.
April 4, 2008 - John Reed, CEO of Citicorp in 1998, said the 1998 merger was a “mistake that failed to benefit the financial services conglomerate’s investors, customers and employees; turned out to be a “sad story. The stockholders have not benefited, the employees certainly have not benefited and I don’t think the customers have benefited because our franchises are weaker than they have been."
Citigroup 10-Year Stock Price Performance: April 6, 1998 (closed at $36.50 after announcement of merger with Travelers Group) - April 2, 2008 ($24.02 per share).
(source: http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com)
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