Advantages of Mobile Banking Applications

According to recently concluded research reports, mobile banking software or apps used for conducting banking operations through a mobile device promotes faster completion of financial work. This and the fact that banking can now be conducted anytime anywhere by using this software, makes banking mobile apps the preferred option among today’s bank customers. Let us take a look at few advantages that banking mobile applications provide:

1. Time effective – Even when you are working or commuting, checking the balance in your account, managing and scheduling payments, adding a top up in your credit card, opening new accounts, and transferring money from one account to another is now possible at the click of just a few buttons. Since paying visits to banks is no longer essential, it saves up on time for a customer.

2. Easy to use – The banking mobile apps are designed in such a way as will enable even a non technical customer to conduct financial operations anytime and from anywhere. Thus, one does not have to pay extra for conducting banking transactions while shopping, traveling, or even while out on a holiday.

3. It is a secure option – Most financial institutions now offer security codes to their mobile customers in order to ensure added security while using apps for making transactions. Contrary to the popular belief that mobile banking apps are not secure, these types of software are now offering enhanced security features to their customers. The possibility of fraud is also reduced since the customers using mobile banking apps are alerted via SMS every time an activity is conducted in their accounts. As soon as money is deposited or withdrawn from bank accounts through activities such as fund transfer, check deposit, or cash withdrawal, the customer will receive an SMS alert on his/her mobile device irrespective of whether the smartphone is connected to the internet or not.

4. Two way benefits – Banking through the use of mobile apps benefits not only the customers but also the financial firms. It is a cost effective solution for banks, since they no longer have to spend on tele-banking. Moreover, it helps the banks understand the way their customers make monetary transactions, and hence they can improvise on means to better their customer care services. They can also identify their target customers better and promote services and products such as different types of loans and credit cards to this section of audience.

5. Reduces total cost incurred by customer – The financial firms offer mobile banking services at prices lower than what the customer would have to incur if he/she had to be involved in normal banking transactions where visiting the financial firm would be necessary.

6. Mobile banking is better than internet banking – The advent of banking mobile apps has transformed the face of banking like even internet facilities could not. This is because of the fact that in the case of the latter, having a computer with an internet connection is mandatory. But in the former, just having a smartphone is enough. Connectivity is no longer a problem in an age where Wi-Fi surroundings are available in most areas, even remote localities. The cost is lower in the case of banking with the help of mobile apps; moreoverScience Articles, the system is also portable.

Banking Careers Given A Boost Through ICICI, HDFC & IndusInd Bank Recruitment 2013

For all those people who are looking forward for recruitment in the banks, the present day scenario is quite lucrative because banks are coming out with a variety of job opportunities.

People are required to handle the work of the banks in different divisions and in the newly launched branches. On the whole, the demand for skilled people is increasing across the private and public sector banks, throughout the country. Since the major private banks in the country are the ICICI bank and the HDFC banks, many jobs are found in these banks.

It is because of the vision of a few people who had planned for providing easy banking facilities to the public, that such banks were created. And now these banks are not only catering to the banking solutions for the people, but they have become channels of employment for those banking aspirants who wish for a prosperous career in this particular sector. These private sector banks have been providing employment in variety of posts such as relationship managers, customer executives, and many others. It is more through the presence of a large number of branches that the manpower required is so high.

To fill up the vacancies and to recruit people into the new branches, the ICICI bank recruitment 2013 will be done in different posts. Candidates fulfilling the eligibility criteria are waiting up for these opportunities to come along, so that they can put in their applications and become a part of such a large private bank in the country. It is almost common to find the ICICI banks and ATMs in smaller cities and towns, throughout the country. Without active recruitment and readiness to join the large corporate banking sector, it wouldn’t have been possible for the bank to have such a widespread presence in the country.

HDFC bank recruitment 2013 will similarly herald the job opportunities and then people will put in their applications to start a career in banking. Also, those engaged in other banks will try and find employment in the HDFC or ICICI banks, so as to give a boost to their careers by having the names of these bigwigs associated with their resumes.

IndusInd bank is another large private sector bank, in the mode of expansion and effort to have a pan-Indian presence. To be able to meet the demands of the customers, the bank will be making public its advertisement for the IndusInd bank recruitment 2013, so that its branches throughout the country are manned with skilled employees. This will be another opportunity for the banking job aspirants to gain a career that is going to be prosperous as well as progressive.

Because of the large stature of these private banks in India, plenty of applications are usually seen coming in for the various posts. According to the eligibility and fulfilment of other qualifications, candidates will submit their applications and go through the recruitment process so as to find their place among the best in the banking employees.

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ICICI bank recruitment 2013 , hdfc bank recruitment 2013 , indusind bank recruitment 2013

What you need to know about investments banks?

Investment banking firms provide business all the capital they need, and they also have advisory services for different types of investors. On the other hand, investment banks should take care of investing in company assets and searching for investors that will make the business go further. However, choosing an investment bank can take some time, and you should know what are the right questions to ask, if you are trying the best bank for you.

Finding a proper investment bank

It may seem insignificant, but the size of investment banking firms is very important. The smaller banks will offer you more one-on-one sessions, and they can give you all attention you need. The reputation is also very important, and you should find out if the bank has proven its success, and how it worked with other clients so far. On the other hand, even if you are a beginner in the investment area, it is crucial to know if there is a strategy that the bank has for the future, and wants the kind of goals it wants to achieve in the future. In the end, the atmosphere can tell you a lot about a particular bank. It includes all the people involved in your project, how much they are willing to help you, and what kind of ambitions they have when investing.

General or specialist investment banks?

When it comes to investment banks, there are two major types, and they both offer different advantages for your business. General investment banks usually focus on providing clients with all necessary advices, but they still handle monetary transactions. Those types usually take care of rising the equity capital, rising the debt capital, launching new products and they can be also engaged in proprietary trading. On the other hand, specialist investment banks are "specialized" for particular sectors, and they mostly want to help small business with a particular niche. Their major benefit is the ability to help a company develop in a specific way, depending on its niche, which is very important nowadays. However, before you decide on any of those two types, you should understand your own niche, products and future goals.

There are also buy side and sell side services, where the first one works with pension funds, mutual funds and hedge funds, but the second one is focused on placing new bond issues, and helping clients facilitate transactions.

No matter what type of company you have, the investment banking will help you acquire the fundsBusiness Management Articles, and all you have to do is find the one that will get your business to the higher level.

Save The Trees – Use Less Paper With Bank of America Online Banking

We all use paper everyday – to write on, to draw on, to scribble on, to wrap fish in or to play wastebasket basketball with. We also use paper for things like bank account statements and billing statements. If you multiply that with the number of people in the country that’s a lot of paper that’s being used up – and a lot of trees.

That’s also a lot of paper records that you need to have and keep track of – not really an easy task for many. But there’s a way to get rid of the paper and still get the same information from your accounts and billers – online banking.

If you already have a Bank of America bank account then you’re eligible to sign up for their online banking service. Register using your ATM or debit card number, the PIN, your social security number and a valid email address.

Once inside you can view all your personal Bank of America accounts – savings, checking, money market accounts, and certificates of deposits, credit card, lines of credit, mortgages and even individual retirement accounts. This also includes all your out-of-state accounts (except in Washington State and Idaho). You can also view your business accounts although you will need to apply for another ID for that.

Eligible accounts automatically get the electronic versions of their paper statements – just that you don’t have to wait for it in the mail. You have the option of getting the electronic statements while still receiving the paper statements through the mail.

But you can choose to opt out of the paper statements altogether and just stick with the electronic versions. Once you do that you will receive email notifications telling you when an electronic statement is available for your perusal. You can either print them out or download them to your computer for your records.

You have that same option when it comes to your bills once you sign up to the optional bill pay service. Simply add the billers that you already pay into your “pay to” list and opt to receive their electronic bills instead of the paper bills. Like the electronic statements, you will also receive an email notification once you get an e-bill.

To pay the bill simply click on it, enter the amount you want to pay and set the payment schedule (hopefully 5 business days before the due date to give your biller time to process and credit your account). Do take note than not all billers send e-bills – check the list on the Bank of America Website.

With bill pay you can pay almost anyone at anytime. You can even choose the account you want to pay it from – your checkingBusiness Management Articles, your money market account or your credit card. You can even set up recurring payments for your regular bills and do schedule it up to a year in advance.

With online banking you not only save the trees but you also give yourself the convenience and save time that you would have spent writing checks and mailing them out.

History Of Internet Banking

We all know about internet banking and most of us use it quite often as well, but few of us actually understand about the history of internet banking and how it all came out. Knowing the history of internet banking can be incredibly useful, especially since it will allow you to have more respect for the little things that you take for granted.

How it All Began

Computers themselves have really come an enormous way since their initial establishment, as the earliest electronic computers were so large that they would take up the entire area of a room, while today some are so small that they can hardly be seen at all.

In today's world, computers play an incredibly large role in the way the world exists in general, and the majority of tasks could actually not be completed if not for the use of computers. Although there are certainly some areas and jobs that cannot yet be completed solely by computers and which thus still require actual manpower, for the most part, computers have helped to make life significantly easier, productive, and more convenient for us all.

The history of Internet banking obviously begins with the history of the Internet, which is notoriously known throughout the world now as a household name, but which actually did not even exist too long ago.

Although the term Internet was first adopted around the year 1974, it wasn't until the 1990s that the Internet became a really universal adoption. The Internet grew incredibly throughout the 90s, and as it continued to grow, various different search engines and Web directories were created in order to assist Web browsers, as well to track pages on the Web and allow people to find things more easily.

Internet banking has been around for quite a few years now, but has really only become prominent over the past year or so in particular. Internet banking offers an array of different advantages to the user, including: account balances and history including year-to-date information, the ability to transfer money from one account to another and to payees for bill payments, check history, reorders, and stop payments, check credit card balances and statements, complete online loan applications, secure interactive messaging with staff, and much more.

Internet banking basically allows you to be able to do everything that you can in your regular banking institution, only with the benefit that you can do it all right from the convenience of your own home. Not only is this great because you can be comfortable and have peace of mind knowing that you can keep track yourself of all your banking issues, but as well it allows for more ease because you never have to worry about rushing out and making it to the bank in timeFind Article, as you can complete Internet banking tasks around the clock.

Bank Recruitment- To Start The Career in Banking

Many people are nowadays seeking jobs in the banking sector. There are many graduates who wish  to start their career in banking. There are many speculations made about the steps which are involved in jobs in banking sector. There are some people who are involved in banking sector but still want more and more improvement. They wish to transfer from one bank to another. There are several job opportunities that are involved in sector of banking

A lot of opportunities are offered by banks to the young graduate trainees. These graduates come from different backgrounds. These backgrounds include accounting, business, finance, information technology, marketing, administration and psychology. At entry level, a lot of young graduates are recruited for various jobs. People who have finance or accounting background can enter into the finance departments. Those who have a psychology and marketing background can be employed in the marketing and customer care departments. Bank recruitments are very beneficial for young graduates. A promising career is in the sector of banking to the Information Technology students. Thus there is a growing need of professionals.

The first step that the young graduates should follow is that they should browse several opportunities that the banking sector offers. Depending on the qualifications and training, various career opportunities are offered to them. There are various banks which recruit large number of professionals with various training backgrounds. There are large opportunities for finance, marketers, information technology and accounting as well. Opportunities in customer care experts are also very large. Bank recruitment is done for various people with diverse backgrounds.

The second step in bank recruitment is writing the curriculum vitae. The CV should be prepared in accordance  with jobs which the applicant is seeking. A person who is seeking IT jobs should mention it clearly in the CV that he is interested in an IT job. Same is the case with people who are seeking career in finance and marketing. The CV is a marketing tool which the people use for marketing themselves as a prospective employer.
Then the job applicants should further pass  their CV and  post them to the prospective employers. A custom made CV should be present with every employment opportunities. It should be according the demands of the employers. Once the CV is posted, the applicants should wait for the response from the bank. There are chances that they may be  called for further interviews as  well.

Once the bank calls  them for interviews, one should be very prepared for understanding the specific job requirements and the future roles that are expected from them by the organization. No shortcuts should be taken. One should pass the interview according to personal aspirations as well as the needs of the bank.

Bank recruitment is a process where the right candidates are identified by the banks for the various opportunities that arise in the banking sector.  Many necessary steps are taken by young graduates for proving the employers that there is no one better than them.. They show that with their talents

Internet banking fundamentals

Traditional banks have monitored the popularity and growth of the internet, and realising customers wanted greater control of their affairs, have created their own internet banking web sites. Customers now have the freedom to securely perform their banking 24 hours a day 7 days a week, where they can pay bills and set up recurring savings or payments, monitor check clearances and perform other tasks like transfers and balance enquiries through an internet connection. The banks also benefit from a lesser need for staff due to the migration to internet banking where customers serve themselves.

The purest form on online banking is the virtual bank, where the only place they exist is in cyberspace. These banks, and all other internet banking continue to grow in popularity because they are convenient, saving customers time and money. To help the growth and assist customers to make the change, many traditional banks offer minimal fee or completely free transfers to help customers migrate to their online banking service. Others will also enable you to set up online banking by simply transferring your funds by check.

Internet banking has revolutionalized banking with immediate global access to your bank accounts using a secure internet connection. Paying bills, transferring funds and just plain monitoring your account are all possible with minimal stress whether you are ravellingScience Articles, holidaying or working anywhere in the world.

Online Banking Vs. Mobile Banking

While PC-based online banking is not much older than a high school student, mobile banking is still in elementary school. With the proliferation of smartphones, however, online banking’s younger sibling is quickly catching up to the slightly more established option.

Banking through your PC’s web browser offers a full menu of services. You can easily and conveniently schedule payments, transfer funds, add new payees, open new accounts, apply for loans, view current and past statements, and access information about specific checks that have been deposited. A PC or Mac allows you to view an extensive array of details and options, giving you full control of your accounts.

Mobile banking is very popular internationally. In some parts of the world, traditional banking infrastructure is not consistently available, and so mobile banking is the primary banking option. With a few exceptions, mobile banking, typically conducted via mobile application, offers the same basic features as browser-based online banking. In particular, mobile banking emphasizes “transactional” features, such as bill payments, check deposits (where available, this feature allows a customer to take a picture of a check to be deposited), mobile person-to-person payments, and balancing checks.

Mobile banking can also offer additional security by enabling text-backs, which employ a customer’s phone as a second form of authentication when using either browser-based or mobile banking.

If you use your smartphone to access your bank’s website directly, the website may recognize that you are using a mobile browser and automatically offer you a dedicated application. If not, search your preferred mobile market or app store to see what your bank offers. Either way, it’s a good idea to give mobile banking a try. It’s a time-saver that can often be more secure than traditional online banking.

Robert SicilianoFree Reprint Articles, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto. Disclosures

E-banking (Online Banking) and its role in today’s society

The world is changing at a staggering rate and technology is considered to be the key driver for these changes around us (Papers4you.com, 2006). An analysis of technology and its uses show that it has permeated in almost every aspect of our life. According to Tero et al (2004) many activities are handled electronically due the acceptance of information technology at home as well as at workplace. Internet can be seen as a truly global phenomenon that has made time and distance irrelevant to many transactions. According to Heikki et al. (2002), the transformation from the traditional banking towards e-banking has been a ‘leap’ change.

The evolution of electronic banking started from the use of automatic teller machines (ATM) and has passed through telephone banking, direct bill payment, electronic fund transfer and the revolutionary online banking (Alter, 2002). The future of electronic banking according to some is the acceptance of WAP enabled banking and interactive-TV banking (Petrus & Nelson, 2006). But it has been forecasted that among all the categories, online banking is the future of electronic financial transactions. The rise in the e-commerce and the use of internet in its facilitation along with the enhanced online security of transactions and sensitive information has been the core reasons for the penetration of online banking in everyday life (Papers4you.com, 2006). According to the latest official figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS, 2006) indicate that subscriptions to the internet has grown more than 50% from 15 million in 2000 to 35 million in 2005 in the UK. It has also been estimated that 60% of the population in the UK use internet in their daily lives.

The fundamental shift towards the involvement of the customer in the financial service provision with the help of technology especially internet has helped in reduce costs of financial institutions as well as helped client to use the service at anytime and from virtually anywhere with access to an internet connection. According to theorists (Walfried et al., 2005) customer evaluation of the electronic services is influenced by attributions of success and failure in inter personal service situations. The use of electronic banking has removed the banking personnel that facilitate the transactions and has placed additional responsibilities on the customers to transact with the service. Although the use of E-banking is provided for the benefit of the customers but these changes require increased work or involvement on the part of customers. These and other factors might be seen as lesser service provided in terms of customer service. But these assumptions would be wrong if the customer knows the value of using the electronic service.

Thus it can be concluded that a fit between task i.e. the banking; technology i.e. the user interface and its reliability; and individuals i.e. the customers and their knowledge about using the service, is the key to successful E-banking services (Zigurs & Buckland, 1998).  

References:

Alter, S. (2002), “Information Systems” 4th Edition, Prentice Hall

Heikki Karjaluoto, Minna Mattila, Tapio Pento (2002), “Factors underlying attitude formation towards online banking in Finland”, International Journal of Bank Marketing; Volume: 20   Issue: 6; 2002 Research paper

ONS (2005), “Office of National Statistics”, www.statistics.gov.uk

Papers For You (2006) "P/F/174. Dissertation. Adoption of Online Banking", Available from Papers4you.com [18/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) "P/F/174. Dissertation. Adoption of Online Banking", Available from <a href="http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtfina35.htm">Papers4you.com</a> [18/06/2006]

Petrus Guriting, Nelson Oly Ndubisi (2006), “Borneo online banking: evaluating customer perceptions and behavioural intention”, Management Research News; Volume: 29   Issue: 1/2; 2006 Conceptual Paper

Tero Pikkarainen, Kari Pikkarainen, Heikki Karjaluoto, Seppo Pahnila (2004), “Consumer acceptance of online banking: an extension of the technology acceptance model”, Internet Research; Volume: 14   Issue: 3; 2004 Research paper

Walfried M. Lassar, Chris Manolis, Sharon S. Lassar (2005), “The relationship between consumer innovativeness, personal characteristics, and online banking adoption”, International Journal of Bank Marketing; Volume: 23   Issue: 2; 2005 Research paper

Zigurs, I. & Buckland, B. (1998), “A Theory of Task/Technology Fit and Group Support Systems Effectiveness”, MIS Quarterly, Sep98, Vol. 22 Issue 3, p313-334Free Reprint Articles, 22p

The Banking Internet Basics

With the popularity of the Internet and the power it gives people to take control of their lives, many traditional banks have created banking Internet web pages where customers could transfer money, set up bill payments recurring or otherwise, quickly check items that have cleared, and many other functions that can be accessed 24 hours per day 7 days a week. This banking Internet option has been very popular not only for customers who want to have some control over their account without having to go to the bank but for banks as well whose man hours have been freed up from performing simple tasks like balance inquiries, account transfers, and the like because the customer does it himself with banking Internet.

Banking Internet options also include virtual banks. This is the truest form of banking Internet simply because these banks only exist online. Banking Internet options have become popular because they save customers time and money, which is a very trendy combination. Banking Internet which only exist online means you will have to transfer your money to the new account or else mail a payment via check. Since the whole idea of banking Internet is to make banking as easy as possible, most banking Internet sites will allow you to make a transfer from a brick and mortar bank to the banking Internet site as often as you like with no charge or a small fee.

When you utilize banking Internet options you are able to access your account, move money, pay billsArticle Submission, and any number of things from any computer with Internet access worldwide. This is amazing and makes traveling a lot less stressful as well because with banking Internet you always know where your account stands.

The American Express

The American Express Company, also known as Amex, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan's Three World Financial Center in New York City, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial AverageThe company is best known for its credit card, charge card, and traveler's cheque businesses. Amex cards account for approximately 24% of the total dollar volume of credit card transactions in the US.

Early history

In 1850, American Express was started as an express mail business in Buffalo, New York. It was founded as a joint stock corporation by the merger of the express companies owned by Henry Wells (Wells & Company), William G. Fargo (Livingston, Fargo & Company), and John Warren Butterfield (Wells, Butterfield & Company, the successor earlier in 1850 of Butterfield, Wasson & Company).Wells and Fargo also started Wells Fargo & Co. in 1852 when Butterfield and other directors objected to the proposal that American Express extend its operations to California.

American Express initially established its headquarters in a building at the intersection of Jay Street and Hudson Street in what was later called the Tribeca section of Manhattan. For years it enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the movement of express shipments (goods, securities, currency, etc.) throughout New York State. In 1874, American Express moved its headquarters to 65 Broadway in what was becoming the Financial District of Manhattan, a location it was to retain through two buildings.

American Express buildings

In 1854, the American Express Co. purchased a lot on Vesey Street in New York City as the site for its stables. The company's first New York headquarters was an 1858 marble Italianate palazzo at 55–61 Hudson Street, which had a busy freight depot on the ground story with a spur line from the Hudson River Railroad. A stable was constructed in 1867, five blocks north at 4–8 Hubert Street.

The company prospered sufficiently that headquarters were moved in 1874 from the wholesale shipping district to the budding Financial District, and into rented offices in two five-story brownstone commercial buildings at 63 and 65 Broadway that were owned by the Harmony family.

In 1880, American Express built a new warehouse behind the Broadway Building at 46 Trinity Place. The designer is unknown, but it has a façade of brick arches that are redolent of pre-skyscraper New York. American Express has long been out of this building, but it still bears a terracotta seal with the American Express Eagle.

ten-story building by Edward H. Kendall on the site of its former headquarters on Hudson Street.

By 1903, the company had assets of some $28 million, second only to the National City Bank of New York among financial institutions in the city. To reflect this, the company purchased the Broadway buildings and site.

At the end of the Wells-Fargo reign in 1914, an aggressive new president, George Chadbourne Taylor (1868–1923), who had worked his way up through the company over the previous thirty years, decided to build a new headquarters. The old buildings, dubbed by the New York Times as "among the ancient landmarks" of lower Broadway, were inadequate for such a rapidly expanding concern. After some delays due to the war in Europe, the 21-story neo-classical American Express Co. Building was constructed in 1916–17 to the design of James L. Aspinwall, of the firm of Renwick, Aspinwall & Tucker, the successor to the architectural practice of the eminent James Renwick, Jr.. The building consolidated the two lots of the former buildings with a single address: 65 Broadway. This building was part of the "Express Row" section of lower Broadway at the time. The building completed the continuous masonry wall of its block-front and assisted in transforming Broadway into the "canyon" of neo-classical masonry office towers familiar to this day.American Express extended its reach nationwide by arranging affiliations with other express companies (including Wells Fargo – the replacement for the two former companies that merged to form American Express), railroads, and steamship companies.

Financial services

In 1882, American Express started its expansion in the area of financial services by launching a money order business[13] to compete with the United States Post Office's money orders.

Sometime between 1888 and 1890, J. C. Fargo took a trip to Europe and returned frustrated and infuriated. Despite the fact that he was president of American Express and that he carried with him traditional letters of credit, he found it difficult to obtain cash anywhere except in major cities. Fargo went to Marcellus Flemming Berry and asked him to create a better solution than the letter of credit. Berry introduced the American Express Traveler's Cheque which was launched in 1891 in denominations of $10, $20, $50, and $100.[17]

Traveler's cheques established American Express as a truly international company. In 1914, at the onset of World War I, American Express in Europe was among the few companies to honor the letters of credit (issued by various banks) held by Americans in Europe, because other financial institutions refused to assist these stranded travelers.

Citigroup Finance BANK

Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational investment banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate Travelers Group in October 1998 (announced on April 7, 1998)  As of January 2015, it is the third largest bank holding company in the US by assets. Its largest shareholders include funds from the Middle East and Singapore  In 2007, Citigroup was one of the primary dealers in US Treasury securities. Citigroup suffered huge losses during the global financial crisis of 2008 and was rescued in November 2008 in a massive stimulus package by the U.S. government On February 27, 2009, Citigroup announced that the U.S. government would take a 36% equity stake in the company by converting US$25 billion in emergency aid into common stock with a US Treasury credit line of $45 billion to prevent the bankruptcy of the largest bank in the world at the time.  The government guaranteed losses on more than $300 billion troubled assets and injected $20 billion immediately into the company. In exchange, the salary of the CEO was set at $1 per year and the highest salary of employees was restricted to $500,000 in cash. Any compensation amount above $500,000 had to be paid with restricted stock that could not be sold by the employee until the emergency government aid was repaid in full. The U.S. government also gained control of half the seats in the Board of Directors, and the senior management was subjected to removal by the US government if there were poor performance. By December 2009, the U.S. government stake was reduced from a 36% stake to a 27% stake, after Citigroup sold $21 billion of common shares and equity in the largest single share sale in U.S. history, surpassing Bank of America's $19 billion share sale one month prior. By December 2010, Citigroup repaid the emergency aid in full and the U.S. government received an additional $12 billion profit in selling its shares.US Government restrictions on pay and oversight of the senior management were removed after the US government sold its remaining 27% stake as of December 2010.

As of 2009, Citigroup was one of the Big Four banks in the United States, with Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. As of June 2012, the year of Citi's 200th anniversary, Citigroup had built up an enormous cash reserve in the wake of the financial crisis with $420 billion in surplus liquid cash and government securities As of Q1 2012, Citi had a tier 1 capital ratio of 12.4%, making Citi one of the best-capitalized financial institutions in the world after billions of dollars in losses from the financial crisis  A special IRS tax exception given to Citi allowed the US Treasury to sell its shares at a profit, while it still owned Citigroup shares, which eventually netted $12 billion. According to Treasury spokeswoman Nayyera Haq, "This (IRS tax) rule was designed to stop corporate raiders from using loss corporations to evade taxes, and was never intended to address the unprecedented situation where the government owned shares in banks. And it was certainly not written to prevent the government from selling its shares for a profit.

History

City Bank of New York was chartered by New York State on June 16, 1812, with $2 million of capital. Serving a group of New York merchants, the bank opened for business on September 14 of that year, and Samuel Osgood was elected as the first President of the company.

The history of the company is, thus, divided into the workings of several firms that over time amalgamated into Citicorp, a multinational banking corporation operating in more than 100 countries; or Travelers Group, whose businesses covered credit services, consumer finance, brokerage, and insurance. As such, the company history dates back to the founding of: the City Bank of New York (later Citibank) in 1812; Bank Handlowy in 1870; Smith Barney in 1873, Banamex in 1884; Salomon Brothers in 1910.

City Bank of New York was chartered by New York State on June 16, 1812, with $2 million of capital. Serving a group of New York merchants, the bank opened for business on September 14 of that year, and Samuel Osgood was elected as the first President of the company.[31] The company's name was changed to The National City Bank of New York in 1865 after it joined the new U.S. national banking system, and it became the largest American bank by 1895.[31] It became the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 1913, and the following year it inaugurated the first overseas branch of a U.S. bank in Buenos Aires, although the bank had, since the mid-19th century, been active in plantation economies, such as the Cuban sugar industry. The 1918 purchase of U.S. overseas bank International Banking Corporation helped it become the first American bank to surpass $1 billion in assets, and it became the largest commercial bank in the world in 1929.[31] As it grew, the bank became a leading innovator in financial services, becoming the first major U.S. bank to offer compound interest on savings (1921); unsecured personal loans (1928); customer checking accounts (1936) and the negotiable certificate of deposit

Capital OneCapital

Capital OneCapital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking and savings products. When measured in terms of total assets and deposits, Capital One is the eighth-largest bank holding company in the United States. As of 2012, The bank has 963 Capital One Bank Branches  ncluding 10 café style locations for their Capital One 360 brand On July 27, 1994, Richmond, Virginia-based Signet Financial Corp announced the spin off of its credit card division, OakStone Financial, naming Richard Fairbank as CEO[12] (Signet Banking Corp is now part of Wells Fargo). Signet renamed the subsidiary Capital One in October of that year.[13] The spinoff was concluded February 28, 1995, making Capital One fully independent. Unlike other diversified financial services firms, Capital One began as a "monoline", meaning the vast majority of its business was in consumer lending, particularly credit cards. Remaining a monoline is risky, as it can be very profitable industry in good times, and markedly unprofitable in bad. Most consumer-lending monolines in the past twenty years have either gone out of business (e.g., The Money Store, NextCard, Royal Acceptance) or have been acquired (e.g., MBNA, Beneficial, First USA); Capital One is notable for having experienced neither. 

Capital One Auto Finance

Capital One Auto Financial Corporation is the parent company of Capital One Auto Finance Company, based in Plano, Texas The company includes Summit Acceptance Corporation, which Capital One acquired in July 1998, and PeopleFirst Finance LLC, which was acquired in October 2001. The companies were combined and rebranded as Capital One Auto Finance Corporation in 2003. As of 2012, Capital One Auto Finance is the largest Internet auto lender, as well as one of the top US auto lenders overall.

The company, which previously sold auto loans only through direct mail and auto dealerships, lets auto owners refinance existing auto loans and shoppers apply for new auto loans online. A decision usually comes within 15 minutes, after which the buyer receives a "blank check" for up to the approved auto loan amount, which the buyer uses to purchase a car. To the dealership, it is as if the buyer were paying cash. The checks can be used to purchase a new or used vehicle, or to refinance an existing auto loan with another lender.

CapitalOne 360

CapitalOne 360 is an online banking division of Capital One. The division originated in a separate company, ING Direct, which was founded in 2000 in Wilmington, Delaware as a brand for a branchless direct bank. In September 2007, ING Direct acquired 104,000 customers and FDIC insured assets from the failed virtual bank NetBank.Two months later, ING Direct acquired online stock broker Sharebuilder.Since 2001, Capital One has been the principal sponsor of the college football Florida Citrus Bowl, rebranding it the Capital One Bowl in 2003. It sponsors a mascot challenge every year, announcing the winner on the day of the Capital One Bowl. Capital One is one of the top three sponsors of the NCAA, paying an estimated $35 million annually in exchange for advertising and access to consumer data.

wo months later, ING Direct acquired online stock broker Sharebuilder.

In June 2011, Capital One Financial Corporation purchased ING Direct USA from its Netherlands based parent, ING Group, paying US$9 billion (€6.3 billion). The sale was completed on June 16, 2011 with the CEO of ING Group at that time Jan Hommen saying the sale "marks a further important step in the restructuring of ING Group. Yet at the same time we are saying goodbye to a very successful business and a dedicated teamFollowing the acquisition, ING direct was rebranded Capital One 360

Fifth Third Bank

Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank) is a U.S. regional banking corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio at Fifth Third Center, and is the principal subsidiary of holding company Fifth Third Bancorp. The company operates under an Ohio charter.

The company's main businesses include branch banking, commercial banking, consumer lending, payment processing, investment advising, and title insurance.Fifth Third Bank's corporate history began on June 17, 1858, when the Bank of the Ohio Valley opened in Cincinnati. Five years later, the Third National Bank organized on June 23, 1863. On April 29, 1871, the younger bank acquired the older one, beginning a long history of acquisitions and mergers that absorbed and renamed numerous smaller banks.

The Fifth Third name

Fifth Third's unusual name is the result of the June 1, 1908, merger of Third National Bank and Fifth National Bank, to become the Fifth-Third National Bank of Cincinnati (the hyphen was later dropped).

While Third National was the senior partner, the merger took place when prohibitionist ideas were gaining popularity, and it is legend that "Fifth Third" was better than "Third Fifth," which could have been construed as a reference to three "fifths" of alcohol.The name went through several changes over the years until March 24, 1969, when it was changed to Fifth Third Bank.

Acquisitions and mergers

In 1999, the company completed the acquisition of Enterprise Federal Bancorp Inc., one of the biggest thrifts in the Cincinnati area. The purchase, estimated at $96.4 million, added 11 branches to Fifth Third in greater Cincinnati. Fifth Third also acquired Ashland Bankshares, Inc. and its subsidiary Bank of Ashland, both based in Kentucky. The $80-million purchase gave Fifth Third four more branches and $160 million in assets. Fifth Third also began to implement plans to expand further into Florida and acquired South Florida Bank Holding Corp. in June, adding another four branches to its Florida roster. Additional expansion into the Cleveland area came with the $204-million acquisition of Emerald Financial Corp. Fifth Third also acquired Cleveland-based Emerald Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, Strongsville Savings Bank.

In November 2000, Fifth Third announced the purchase of Old Kent Bank of Western Michigan. This added more than 300 full-service banking centers in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.

Acquisitions and mergers

In 1999, the company completed the acquisition of Enterprise Federal Bancorp Inc., one of the biggest thrifts in the Cincinnati area. The purchase, estimated at $96.4 million, added 11 branches to Fifth Third in greater Cincinnati. Fifth Third also acquired Ashland Bankshares, Inc. and its subsidiary Bank of Ashland, both based in Kentucky. The $80-million purchase gave Fifth Third four more branches and $160 million in assets. Fifth Third also began to implement plans to expand further into Florida and acquired South Florida Bank Holding Corp. in June, adding another four branches to its Florida roster. Additional expansion into the Cleveland area came with the $204-million acquisition of Emerald Financial Corp. Fifth Third also acquired Cleveland-based Emerald Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, Strongsville Savings Bank.

In November 2000, Fifth Third announced the purchase of Old Kent Bank of Western Michigan. This added more than 300 full-service banking centers in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.

In May 2007, Fifth Third announced the acquisition of R-G Crown Bank of Casselberry, Florida, a transaction that closed in the fourth quarter of 2007 and which added 30 branches in Florida and three in Georgia.

On August 16, 2007, Fifth Third announced the purchase of First Charter Bank of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Fifth Third bought the branches, it would have greatly expanded the bank's presence in the Pittsburgh region where Fifth Third has opened a small handful of branches over the past few years as opposed to acquiring a rival bank, as well as enter the Erie market. Ultimately, PNC sold the bulk of the overlapping branches to First Niagara Bank. In 2015, Fifth Third announced it would exit the Pittsburgh market by selling its retail branches to locally-based FNB Corporation, but it would continue to do commercial banking in Pittsburgh.\Controversies.

2014 Discrimination Settlement

In August 2014, the Department of Justice filed a settlement with Fifth Third Mortgage Company resolving allegations that the bank engaged in a pattern of discrimination on the basis of disability and receipt of public assistance in violation of Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Under the settlement, Fifth Third was required to establish a settlement fund of $1.5 million to compensate eligible mortgage loan applicants who were asked to provide a letter from their doctor to document the income they received from Social Security Disability Insurance.

2007 data breach

In January 2007, The New York Times published an article entitled Data Breach Could Affect Millions stating "Yesterday, Fifth Third Bank of Cincinnati was identified as the sponsoring bank that handles TJX’s accounts, which makes it responsible for ensuring that the retailer met the industry’s data security standards t was later found that potentially 45.7 million credit card numbers were compromised. This, from the Associated Press, "TJX says its computer systems were first breached in July 2005 by a hacker or hackers who accessed information from customer transactions dating to January 2003. TJX says it didn’t learn of the breach until about three months ago.... The filing also says, “We believe that the intruder had access to the decryption tool for the encryption software utilized .

SunTrust Banks

SunTrust Banks, Inc., is an American bank holding company. The largest subsidiary is SunTrust Bank. It had US$175 billion in assets as of December 31, 2013  SunTrust Bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where its headquarters remain.

SunTrust operates 1,497 bank branches and 2,243 ATMs across Southern states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington.

History and acquisitions

On 21 September 1891, SunTrust's most direct corporate ancestor, the Trust Company of Georgia, was founded as the Commercial Travelers' Savings Bank. The founders were John M. Green, Joel Hurt, H. L. Atwater, W. A. Hansell, T. J. Hightower, J. G. Oglesby, J. D. Turner, John B. Daniel, Joseph Hirsch, Leon Lieberman, Louis Wellhouse, A. J. McBride, D. O. Dougherty, W. A. Gregg, W. W. Draper, A. C. Hook, W. T. Ashford, George W. Brooke, C. I. Branan and C. D. Montgomery.[

In November 1893, it restructured as a trust company and renamed itself Trust Company of Georgia The current SunTrust Banks, Inc., was the result of a merger between the Trust Company of Georgia and SunBanks, Inc., of Orlando, Florida (founded in 1934 as First National Bank of Orlando) in 1985. The merged company operated as Trust Company Bank in Georgia and Sun Bank in Florida until 1995, when all banks took the SunTrust name.

In 1986, shortly after the Trust Company–SunBanks merger, SunTrust purchased Third National Corporation of Nashville, though it continued to use the Third National name in Tennessee until 1995. SunTrust purchased Crestar Financial Corporation of Richmond, Virginia in 1998 expanding the company’s footprint into Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Crestar's (and SunTrust's) earliest predecessor, Farmers Bank of Alexandria, was founded in 1811.

In 2001, SunTrust purchased the institutional businesses of the Robinson-Humphrey Company, LLC. creating SunTrust Robinson-Humphrey.

The company bought Memphis-based National Commerce Financial Corporation (NCF) for $7 billion in 2004. The bank operated as National Bank of Commerce in South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia and as Central Carolina Bank and Trust in North Carolina. This acquisition allowed SunTrust to enter Alabama, the Carolinas and West Virginia for the first time, and substantially increased its footprint in the other states

In 2013, the bank led a bank group that included Fifth Third Bank and Florida Community Bank that helped finance the acquirement of BEL USA, the parent company that owns DiscountMugs, by Comvest Partners, a private equity firm.

In 2014, SunTrust announced it would launch a medical specialty group to work with independent medical practices.

On Sept. 16, 2014, the Atlanta Braves announced the name of their new Cobb County stadium: SunTrust Park SunTrust Park, which is expected to be unveiled in time for the first pitch of the 2017 season, will serve as the new home of the Atlanta Braves. The $1.1 billion construction project in Cobb County will include restaurants, shops, offices, a hotel and residential spaces directly connected to the park. The Braves organization is making history by building out the development at the same time the stadium is being constructed.

2014 National Mortgage Settlement

In 2014, the Federal government together with state attorneys general in 49 states and the District of Columbia reached a settlement requiring SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., to provide $500 million in various forms of relief to mortgage borrowers. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered the Consent Order on September 30, 2014. The consent order addressed SunTrust's alleged misconduct regarding its mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices. SunTrust was also required to create a 40 million dollar fund for the approximately 45,000 SunTrust borrowers who were foreclosed upon between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2013. In addition, SunTrust was required to adhere to significant new homeowner protections. The consent order required that SunTrust follow the servicing standards set up by the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) with the five largest banks.Controversies

In September 2015 SunTrust laid off one hundred IT professionals with a controversial severance agreement clause by SunTrust that required laid-off employees to be available to help without pay for a period of two years. On October, 23rd Suntrust reversed course and removed the clause ""to make myself reasonably available to SunTrust regarding matters in which I have been involved in the course of my employment with SunTrust and/or about which I have knowledge as a result of my employment with SunTrust.