Out of life

摘要

More than six years on, the reasons for Citicorp's merger with Travelers, a big insurer, in October 1998 remain sound. Moody's, a rating agency, says the value of diversification alone has played a role in boosting the credit rating of the giant now known as Citigroup. With its enormous distribution network of branches and Smith Barney brokers, as well as a missionary salesforce of more than 100,000 part-timers, Citigroup was well equipped to push insurance policies-products that, as industry lore has it, are sold not bought.