On April 6, 1998, the creation of Citigroup through the combination of Citicorp and Travelers Inc. was announced to the general applause of analysts and financial pundits. The “merger of equals” created the world’s largest financial services firm—largest in market value, product range, and geographic scope. Management claimed that strict attention to the use of capital and rigorous control of costs (a Travelers specialty) could be combined with Citicorp’s uniquely global footprint and retail banking franchise to produce uncommonly good revenue and cost synergies. In the four years that followed, through the postmerger Sturm und Drang and a succession of further acquisitions, Citigroup seemed to outperform its rivals in both market share and shareholder value by a healthy margin. Like its home base, New York City, it seemed to show that the unman- ageable could indeed be effectively managed through what proved to be a rather turbulent financial environment.