By the end of the 19th century the bank had grown to become the largest bank in the United States and the first to establish a foreign trading departments.
After the Panic of 1837, Moses Taylor a wealthy merchant acquired a controlling interest in the bank, holding it presidency from 1858 until he died in 1882, to be succeeded by his son in law, Percy Pyne.
Taylor and Pyne pursued policies of strong liquidity and high cash reserves, enabling the institution – re-chartered in 1865 as the National City Bank of New York.
In 1914 the bank established its first overseas office in Buenos Aires, Argentina and shortly thereafter began to aggressively expand across South America and Asia.
In 1929, Citibank became the largest bank in the world.
By 1967 it had 148 direct foreign branches on forty-two countries and 93 bank subsidiaries or affiliates in twenty one countries.
Later renamed Citibank NA in 1976, it recoup its international position, opening or reopening branches in every major overseas country.
Citibank expanded its credit card fees and interest revenue in 1981 by acquiring the Diners Club, membership in which permitted New Yorkers and others in big Eastern cities to eat at restaurants without carrying cash.
By the early 1990s, Citibank had grown to more than 3,400 branches in 100 countries and was considered the world’s most global bank.
In April of 1988, Citibank announced that it was merging with Travelers group, Inc, which owned Salomon Brothers and Smith Barneys. The value of this merger was set at $83 billion. The combined firm’s holding company became Citigroup, Inc.
History of Citibank
