First National City Bank was the name used by the New York-based bank (now Citibank) in Argentina and worldwide between 1962 and 1976, following its 1955 merger with the First National Bank. The bank’s Buenos Aires branch opened in 1914, making it the first U.S. bank in Argentina.[1]
Design and History
The bank changed its name to First National City Bank in 1962, then adopted the shorter name Citibank in 1976.[2] The 1976 rebranding was part of a deliberate effort to shed the bank’s formal image. In the mid-1970s, the bank “junked its fuddy-duddy name, First National City Bank, and adopted an informal, italicized logo.”[3]
In Argentina, the Citibank wordmark introduced in 1976 remained in use longer than in most other markets. Argentina and Venezuela were the last countries to use this logo, with Argentina retaining it until 2007.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 1976 Citibank identity was designed by Dan Friedman of Anspach Grossman Portugal.[4] The italicized wordmark was intended to convey a more informal, approachable character compared with the bank’s previous corporate identity.[3]
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