When Sandy Weill thought financial supermarkets were a bad idea

While looking for my very first magazine article online (because a fourth grader had asked me about it), I came across this remarkable utterance by Sandy Weill in a 1997 piece I wrote about the Morgan Stanley-Dean Witter merger:

“I think we found out in the 1980s that you really can’t be all things to all people,” says Weill, who also initiated the unsuccessful Shearson-American Express merger.

A year later, of course, Weill decided it would be really fun to learn that lesson again. Which is why we’re now all part-owners of Citigroup.

Related Topics: Wall Street & Markets
  • Latest on Business

    Are We Already Planting the Seeds of the Next Financial Crisis?

    Central banks are trying to revive weak economies by injecting large amounts of money. That policy helps in the short run, but easy money can also create the conditions for future booms and busts.

    Chipotle Is AppleSlate

    Getty Images

    Is the $25 Billion Foreclosure Settlement a Stealth Bank Bailout?

    Thursday’s $25 billion foreclosure settlement received praise from some consumer groups, but the reaction was not all positive. One detail of the deal that has raised questions and concerns is reports that the five major U.S. banks will get credit for principal reduction of mortgages they do not own. While the fine print of the plan has yet to be released, mortgage investors fear they will be forced to write down the value of their holdings.

blog comments powered by Disqus