Financial Analysis

Yuqing Lei

Business Finance Project

02/01/2014

Background and History of Citigroup Inc. (C) and U S Bancorp (USB)

The corporations under discussion here are the two most influential and giant financial service providers with their bases in the United States. Both these corporations as seen in their present avatar emerged as a result of mergers of two or more individual financial service providers in the United States.

Citigroup Inc. was formed in the year 1998 with the merger of banking giant Citicorp and a multinational finance company Travelers Group. Citigroup is now a multinational financial service provider that operates worldwide and is involved in various sectors other than core finance and banking.

The U.S. Bancorp is a company that provides diversified financial services and it also was formed with various mergers of different big and small banks and other finance companies throughout the 1990s. In its initial years of formation the company focused on enlargement and its acquisitions continued for a long time.

As both the companies are involved in providing financial services to its customers they have a lot in common. Both the companies are headquartered in United States, while U.S. Bancorp has it head office in Minnesota, the Citigroup Inc. is headquartered in Manhattan, New York.

Citigroup Inc. as well as U.S. Bancorp, was formed through mergers of individual banks and other financial service provider. Both the companies provide services in retail banking as well as wholesale or corporate level. They both offer payment solutions and services to their retail and corporate customers around the globe. They operate globally and share the vision of providing the best and innovative products and services to the world.

Both the companies provide similar services and products with an effort to enhance the lives of their customers whether individual or corporate.

The difference between the two corporations can be seen in the style of their operation and the basic ideologies of the two financial giants. Few business experts see a major difference in the style of operation and believe that U.S. Bancorp is more traditional in its business operations while the Citigroup Inc. has a modern and global perspective.

Talking about the founders of the two financial service giants, the Citigroup Inc. was not founded by a single person as it was a merger; Samuel Osgood who once served in the U.S. cabinet was its first president. Samuel graduated from Harvard College where he studied theology. He also served as warrior in some prominent revolutionary wars in the modern history of the United States.

Citigroup is presently led by its Chief Executive Officer Michael L. Corbat. Michael is holding his current position since October 16, 2012, prior to that he has been at various associated companies of the Citigroup Inc. Michael L. Corbat has proven his leadership skills and abilities by successfully managing retail and institutional clients and have also proficiently handled the bankruptcy of Orange County, California.

On the other hand U.S. Bancorp was again formed by the acquisitions of several major regional banks and therefore no single individual can be named as the founder of the company. However Richard K. Davis is the current CEO, who started his career as a teller and is on the current designation since 2007.

The current leaders of both the corporations believe in delivering the best services to their customers and creating world class products and services. Citigroup Inc. presents itself as a transparent, dependable and prudent organization that strives to serve their clients for their highest satisfaction.

The U.S. Bancorp also boasts of its global vision and its values that are based on ethics and sincerity towards their work. The company strives to provide quality service and products to its clients anywhere, anytime to make their life easy.