TiredandDisgusted

Blame Citigroup's Woes on the Citi-Travelers Merger

Citi was a bank until the 1998 takeover by Travelers. It was a downhill run from there as Weill tried to turn it into his idea of a financial supermarket where everyone could go get anything they needed. In the process, he and HIS management team (most all the original bankers in positions of management were canned under the guise of job discontinuance, or just downright ousted) destroyed the place. They essentially forgot, or never knew, that while they were cobbling together this financial institution behemoth, it was still a bank. Oversight? What's that. Accountibility? Say what. Controls? Oh please. The desire to have more customers than any other bank in the world dwarfed any rational thinking, products were created that couldn't even be properly supported, or some cases, even understood, and banking laws were either entirely ignored deliberately, or because of. . .ignorance of them - not sure which. Service was measured strictly by numbers in reports, and everything was widgetized, even if it meant pounding square pegs into round holes (oh wait, that's what most of corporate America does these days, isn't it?) And the executives that did it all, along with the people they brought in with them, sat back, patted each other on the back, and took home fat bonuses for a job well done. It was only a matter of time before it would all start to unravel, and that time has arrived. The guy who made the mess already got out with his golden parachute but the people still in charge are still operating under the same collective mindset developed over the past 10 years. Citi is not going to improve until the management from the top down is completely overhauled. The only way they should be receiving ANY bailout funds, is with strict parameters attached and subsequent follow-up to ensure they have done with the funds as directed. Unless they are held accountable, it is a guarantee they will inappropriately utilize the money. And I detest knowing my tax dollars are helping to fund it.