By Steve Garcia

On April 6, 1998, the merger between Citicorp and Travelers Group was announced to the world, creating a $140 billion dollar firm with assets of almost $700 billion dollars. The chairmen of both parent companies, John Reed and Sanford Weill, were announced as co-chairmen and CEOs of the new entity, Citigroup (NYSE:C), Inc., although the huge difference in management styles between the two immediately presented question marks over such a setup.

Presented as a merger, the deal was truthfully more like a stock swap, with Travelers Group purchasing all of Citicorp shares for $70 billion dollars, and issuing 2.5 new Citigroup shares for each Citicorp share. By using this ratio, existing shareholders of each company wound up owning about half of the new merged one. The new company maintained Citicorp’s “Citi” brand in its name but adopted Travelers’ distinctive “red umbrella” as the new corporate logo, and it was used until 2007.

The remaining provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act ; enacted following the Great Depression forbade banks to merge with insurance underwriters, and meant Citigroup had between two and five years to divest any prohibited assets. Sanford Weill stated at the time of the merger that they believed “over time the legislation will change. We have had enough discussions to believe this will not be a problem”  The passing of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in November 1999 proved Reed and Weill’s views, opening the door to financial services conglomerates with a mix of commercial banking, investment banking, insurance underwriting and brokerage services all under one roof essentially. (more…)

By: Rick King – Founder/Publishing Editor – Blue Dog Media LLC & Kingofalltrades.com

First, welcome to King of All Trades Financial News & Online Community.

As many of you know, this past year in the Global Markets has been a heartbreaking, chaotic experience for many.  The U.S. & Global Economies have been slowly recovering from a meltdown that many financial experts will analyze for the next century.  I want many of you to keep this in mind: Humanity and our society as a whole always comes back from the brink.  There are families out there struggling to pay bills, keep food on the table, pay for medical treatment for loved ones – and as heart-wrenching as this may be – we will recover.  If you question this, simply take the time to talk with the senior members of your family & friends, and let them fill you in on the worldwide pandemics of the past or strife through World Wars I, II, Viet Nam, Korea, The Great Depression.  There is a lesson to learn from our past.  Even in the most troubling times, we have found a way to not only survive, but recover and thrive.

As many of you know, this past year has affected each of us in different ways.  We will move on.  Many of the members of our growing online community have followed us through tribulations from the inception of our previous websites.  Economically things are showing improvement.  As a whole we are not there yet – but moving in the correct direction.  Be prepared.  Be patient.  Educate yourself for the times ahead.

This site will be dedicated to not only providing you true and accurate information, but also a place to simply hang your hat and read.  We will become an institution of knowledge and a community of generosity.  I pledge to each new member that as long as I draw a breath you will receive not only my help and advice, but an online home with a light in the window for dark times.

I not only welcome you to this new online community, I challenge each of you to contribute to a cause greater than yourselves in your own way.

Rick