Welcome to American Banker Magazine.
We are a new publication, but it's probably only the "magazine" part of our name that requires an introduction.
American Banker has been a touchstone for generations of banking leaders, providing news and trusted analysis for 175 years. Some of you know us as a daily newspaper. Many more of you know us as an online resource. Now we are pleased to present American Banker Magazine, showcasing the relevant stories and deep analysis that the American Banker brand stands for, but with extended features and a monthly's patient perspective.
If we seem a little familiar to you, it's because we are rooted in the longstanding tradition of U.S. Banker, which this magazine now replaces. (U.S. Banker and American Banker had been under the same ownership for about two decades.)
Our goal in creating American Banker Magazine was to take the best of U.S. Banker — the respected reporting, the unique stories and the popular rankings such as the annual list of the Most Powerful Women in Banking — and infuse it with American Banker's authority and expertise in core banking topics, all in a crisp, clean, readable format that delivers fresh ideas in a focused, engaging way.
We will begin every issue with a unique collection of Briefings, with concise coverage of emerging developments, trends and ideas in the areas that matter most to banks. You'll also find our Metrics & Measures pages, which highlight and interpret key industry datasets to reveal new marketplace narratives and relevant management insights. Further into each issue is Meet & Greet, where you will see the people who are changing the face of banking and get a feel for the hallway chatter at important events and conferences you might not have been able to attend.
You'll also find a great selection of features each month-including compelling cover stories-about the people and ideas driving the bank industry.
When I was asked to take on the role of running this magazine, I knew instantly who I wanted on our first cover. As a reporter for American Banker covering Citigroup these past two years, I had been chronicling the company's efforts to stabilize itself and to begin moving on from the painfully embarrassing mistakes of the recent past. My ambition was to develop a more complete portrait of its chief executive.
Vikram Pandit did not have the time or, it seemed, the inclination to fill the more ambassadorial duties of a corporate leader when he took over as CEO three and a half years ago. And let's face it — with Citi in shambles and big banks at the center of a political firestorm, his office wouldn't have been flooded with too many invitations.
With Citi seeming to have been paroled from the penalty box, Pandit has become more welcoming of the public spotlight, which finally seems to be picking up on some of the company's strengths, while maintaining focus on the repairs it still needs to make.
We asked Pandit about his efforts to navigate the past three years, and about the ideas that will drive Citi in the future. Transition, reinvention-these are themes that come to an editor's mind at the launch of a new publication.
I sincerely welcome your feedback on our debut edition, and I look forward to bringing American Banker Magazine to your desktop — or laptop or tablet or smartphone — each month.
Heather Landy
Editor in Chief
