New York, Nov 09: Citigroup’s new chief executive officer said here he is ready to expand the world’s largest financial services company, but probably not through a blockbuster merger. “The era of the transformational merger ... is over,” said Charles Prince, who became CEO on October 1, in a presentation discussing Citigroup’s global corporate and investment bank. “We’re too big to be transformed any more.” Prince said Citigroup is “focused on growing organic revenues.” The company generated $19.4bn of revenue in the third quarter, roughly the same as in the prior quarter, though 10% more than a year earlier.

In taking this position, Prince may differ in part from his predecessor, Sanford “Sandy” Weill, known as perhaps Wall Street’s foremost dealmaker. Mr Weill, who remains chairman, engineered the creation of Citigroup through the ’98 merger of his Travelers group insurance company with Citicorp, then run by John Reed, now the NYSE’s chairman.
Prince’s stance also contrasts with that of rival Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, who surprised many on October 24 by announcing a bold $47 bn takeover of No 7 bank FleetBoston. Bureau Report