Citigroup Inc. has reported that it will drop the Smith Barney name from its research reports and rebrand them Citigroup Investment Research, effective August 31. The world’s largest bank on Monday said it will keep the Smith Barney name on its network of 400 brokerage offices.
“The new name creates a uniform product brand across all regions and allows the franchise to build upon the international association of the Citigroup name,” research chief Bill Kennedy said in a memo to staff.
This follows the news in June that Credit Suisse Group Inc. plans on dropping First Boston from several operations on Jan. 1.