The Walter B. Wriston Archives

Walter B. Wriston

Walter B. Wriston (August 3, 1919 - January 19, 2005) was a banker and former chairman of Citicorp. An expert on commercial banking, Mr. Wriston wrote and spoke widely on topics relating to finance, banking, technology, and international business.

Mr. Wriston's career at Citibank/Citicorp spanned nearly forty years. He joined the company in 1946 as a Junior Inspector in the Comptroller's Division. He was assigned to the bank's Overseas Division in 1956, heading the European District for three years, and was named a Senior Vice President in 1958. Mr. Wriston became President and Chief Executive Officer of the bank in 1967 and of the corporation when it was formed in 1968. He became Chairman in 1970 and stayed with Citibank/Citicorp until his retirement in 1984. He oversaw the establishment of the bank's first credit card, the "First National City Charge Service." While at the bank and into his retirement, he testified before Senate committees to revise banking regulations.

He was a Director of ICOS Corporation, Cygnus, Inc. and Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He was Chairman of President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board, a member and former Chairman of The Business Council, and a former co-Chairman and Policy committee member of the Business Roundtable. He was a Trustee of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a Life Governor of New York Presbyterian Hospital and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

After Mr. Wriston’s death in 2005, his family donated his papers to Tufts University.

This exhibit provides an entryway to Mr. Wriston's life and work through writings, speeches, and photographs.