What was the original name of Citibank when it was founded in 1812?

What was the original name of Citibank when it was founded in 1812? The answer is City Bank of New York.

City Bank of New York was chartered by New York State on June 16, 1812, and opened for business later that year. Samuel Osgood, a statesman and former U.S. treasury official, became its first president. The bank served New York merchants during a period when the young United States was entering the War of 1812.

Its name changed as its legal status and corporate structure evolved. In 1865, after joining the national banking system, it became The National City Bank of New York. A 1955 merger with First National Bank of New York produced First National City Bank of New York, later shortened to First National City Bank.

The familiar Citibank name arrived in 1976, after the holding company had become Citicorp. “Citibank” had already been used informally for decades, including as a telegraph code. Readers often confuse the original name with National City Bank, but that was a later name adopted after the 1865 national-bank conversion.