Citibank continues its long slog back from the financial crisis with a new CEO, but soon without 11,000 of its workers. The leading bank brand said today that it would save an estimated $1 billion a year by reducing global workforce by around 4 percent, mostly in technology and support jobs.

Most of Citi's problems haven't been in the back offices, however, but in the executive suite. It has lagged its peers in recovering from the crisis, and its CEO during the worst period, Vikram Pandit, was pushed out by directors recently in favor of Michael Corbat, the new CEO.

Corbat's first steps to reorganize the company involve cutting most of the related jobs in Citi's consumer-banking unit, where the bank expects to sell or scale back operations in Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania and Uruguay. It plans to focus instead on 150 higher-growth markets.Continue reading...

Market research shows that e-tailing in India is growing faster than any other Asia Pacific market, which sets the stage for Citi's new campaign in the market: promoting web-based transactions and online shopping to consumers.

Citibank India will host its first ever 24-hour deep discount online promotion — billed as the OMG! Sale, short for Online Mega Sale — on Wednesday (Dec. 5), offering cardholders deals across categories from 17 e-tailers including indiatimes.com, ebay.in, snapdeal.com, indiaplaza.com, zoomin.com, yebhi.com, zovi.com, excluzen.com, highstreetlabels.com, goibibo.com, babyoye.com, firstcry.com, hoopos.com, indiangiftsportal.com, goodlife.com, pepperfry.com and myntra.com. 

The single-day online sale event offers discounts averaging around 30% and extending up to 60% on certain products and services.Continue reading...

In June 2011, the Dutch financial services giant ING Group agreed to sell ING DIRECT USA to Capital One as part of a restructuring agreement with the European Commission. As part of the deal, ING Group permitted the use of "ING DIRECT" only until February, 2013, so the companies adopted Capital One 360 as its new brand name.

As a result, the distinctive ING Direct orange ball is rolling into the archives, to be replaced by Capital One's red-and-blue logo with the addition of a red ball enclosing the number “360” with a sideways chevron. But not all current ING Direct US "Savers," as they like to call their Facebook followers, are convinced. Some fans just can't let go of the ball.

ING Direct customer David Mejias started a “save the orange ball” petition on Change.org, while another brand loyalist, Maria Elena Villegas, posted on Facebook: “So, Capital One bought the rights to the orange ball only to destroy any brand recognition and customer loyalty amongst ING customers? If anything, they should have rolled everything over to look and feel and work as ING Direct works. This is an absolute waste of branding, customer loyalty, and potential goodwill or at least neutrality from current ING customers by Capital One.”Continue reading...

Five years after the housing market crumbled, the U.S. government is still sorting out who to blame. The latest indictment is of Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, now facing a $1 billion lawsuit for allegedly (along with predecessor Countrywide Financial) selling fraudulently approved loans to government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The civil mortgage fraud suit was filed Wednesday by Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, accusing Countrywide, acquired by BofA in 2008, of promoting “HSSL,” (High Speed Swim Lane), a.k.a. “the Hustle” (no, not that "Hustle") in order to eliminate quality checkpoints and push higher volumes of mortgages between 2007 and 2009.Continue reading...

A whole lot of cash changes hands in the Walmarts of the world every day. About 85 percent of the company’s daily transactions are done in cash.

After all, many of the discount retailer’s customers don’t necessarily have credit or checking accounts. That’s something that has led Wal-Mart's corporate execs to try and figure out ways to help serve that market’s financial needs, even if it means creating a whole new system of payment.

That's why Walmart is teaming up with American Express to roll out a prepaid financial-services product called Bluebird that "will allow for deposits by smartphone and mobile bill paying, with no minimum balance or monthly, annual or overdraft fees." The tagline — "Loaded with features, not fees" — emphasizes the fact that this is a move to help consumers who are struggling to pay their monthly bills, let alone go shopping.Continue reading...

The National Bank's distinctive horse logo with green branding in New Zealand is disappearing. Parent ANZ National Bank is merging the country's biggest bank, which has traditionally served rural and small business owners, with its smaller ANZ brand, which recently came in last in a survey of business customers.

The two-year, NZ$100 million rebranding of The National Bank to ANZ comes almost a decade after ANZ bought the bank from Lloyds TSB, and will see at least 200 positions and 20 branches eliminated.

The move, called "risky" by banking ratings firm Roy Morgan, is being explained to customers on a microsite, on Facebook and in the YouTube video below.Continue reading...

Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered in New York's financial district to mark the first anniversary of the movement, their presence contained by metal barriers and riot-clad police forming human walls. The current activities, dubbed a “roving carnival of resistance” include “nonviolent civil disobedience” as well as events planned in at least 15 other cities including Asheville, North Carolina, San Francisco and Hilo, Hawaii. 

Chants of "All day, all week, Occupy Wall Street" and "We got sold out, banks got bailed out," greeted Wall Street workers arriving at their offices, echoes of the original goal of the protest to generate "a swirl of mobile occupations of corporate lobbies and intersections," as stated on the Occupy website for the Sept. 15-17 anniversary events, promoted on Twitter with the hashtags #S15, #S16 and #S17.Continue reading...

With its newest campaign, "The Ex," Citi is extolling its Private Pass cardmember perks program by tapping into the buzz around the MTV Video Music Awards this week.

Debuting the first national campaign for the program during Thursday night's VMAs telecast, the goal is to associate Citi-enabled insider access with acquired cool by rubbing shoulders with more celebrities than ever before: the intimacy of attending exclusive events, such as a foodie event with chefs Giada DiLaurentiis and Daniel Boulud, or a private concert for Citi customers by VMAs performer Alicia Keys, the opportunity to play basketball with Dwyane Wade and John Calipari, or a Sunday football viewing party with John Madden.

It's also hoping, of course, to distinguish its member perks program from what American Express offers.Continue reading...