Citigroup wins this year's award for the world's best bank because of its superior geographic reach and its wide range of products across almost all aspects of financial services. Combined, Citigroup's mix is unparalleled.
| Sandy Weill | ||||||
In a tough market for financial services providers, that has been a crucial aspect of Citigroup's ability to service its clients, from retail through to corporates and investors, in a more comprehensive fashion and on a more global basis than any of its peers.
Having one CEO running the overall company helps, too, and it's now been 15 months since John Reed stepped aside after his battles with co-CEO Sandy Weill became too frequent and too debilitating. This has allowed Weill to exhibit a sharper focus from the top, helped by executive chairman and former US Treasury secretary Robert Rubin. The effects were felt almost immediately in some quarters: Weill quickly shut down Reed's pet project, loss-making, semi-independent e-commerce outfit e-Citi, instead reincorporating projects back within the relevant business units.