Sandy Weill, the chairman of Salomon Smith Barney’s parent Citigroup, has informed brokers and other employees that plans to eliminate the Salomon name, a Wall Street hallmark for nearly a century, have been postponed, according to sources.
The name change may still occur sometime in the future, sources say. A spokeswoman from the firm has confirmed the postponement of the elimination of the Salomon name.
Weill said last year that Citigroup would ultimately use "Citigroup Corporate & Investment Bank" as a brand for the Salomon Smith Barney brokerage and investment bank and the corporate lending unit. Originally, the change was supposed to have taken place March 31 and was then moved up. Weill then decided to keep the Smith Barney name yet drop Salomon.
A Smith Barney broker says one possible reason for the elimination and delay of the name change is because the firm’s attorneys have been focusing on investigations into Salomon’s alleged conflict of interest in research.