Focus: Organizational Integration, Products, Human Resources, and Global Strategy after Acquisition

Introduction

On August 12, 1998, Citibank took full ownership and control of the medium-sized Mexican banking group, Confía, dropping the latter's name and logo from the 280 branches throughout Mexico, and from that point on operating it as part of Citibank Mexico. The road that led to this outcome was rocky to say the least, and the fit of the Mexican bank into Citicorp's global organization and strategy was quite different from what would have been expected only months earlier. This discussion describes the sequence of events involved and the ways in which the process was linked to the organizations and people involved. Before starting into the banks' situations and characteristics, an orientation to the time and place is useful.

The Economic Situation in Mexico during 1994-95

Mexico was one of Citibank's main emerging...