FACTBOX: Five facts about Citigroup

Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:32am EST
 
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is looking at putting risky assets in a government-supported "bad bank" -- a step to reassure investors that the rest of its assets were safe, reports said on Sunday.

Following are five facts about Citigroup, whose shares have plummeted 87 percent so far this year.

* City Bank of New York opened for business in New York City on June 16, 1812 with $2 million in capital. Today, Citigroup is New York City's second largest private employer.

* Citicorp merged with financier Sanford Weill's Travelers Group -- itself a combination of insurer Travelers, brokerages Salomon Brothers and Smith Barney and financial planner Primerica -- in 1998.

* Citigroup has 200 million customers in more than 100 countries across six continents. It is the world's largest provider of credit cards.

* Citigroup was the world's largest bank by market value as recently as 2007, when it was worth more than $250 billion. At Friday's close it was worth just $20.5 billion, making it smaller than each of Canada's top three banks.

* Citigroup had been the top U.S. bank by assets until it was overtaken by JPMorgan Chase & Co in October. Citigroup ended September with $2.05 trillion in assets, compared with $2.25 trillion at JPMorgan.

(Reporting by Christian Plumb; Editing by Bernard Orr)

 

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