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Bank chief credited with backing ideas for ATM, CD dies

January 23, 2005

Associate Press: Walter Wriston, the man who instituted many banking ideas at CitiBank, including the idea for ATMs and certificates of deposit, has died. He was 85.

Wriston was the former chairman and CEO of Citicorp, whose innovative leadership led to many of modern banking's common conveniences.

Under Wriston's reign, Citicorp developed the certificate of deposit and expanded the company's presence in consumer banking.

Wriston was awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom in June 2004 by President George W. Bush, who said Wriston, a Connecticut native, "saw the trends of the future and started a few of his own - first among them, electronic banking."

Wriston was elected president of Citicorp in 1967 and served as chairman from 1970 until he retired in 1984. He also served as chairman of President Ronald Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board.

The company, now known as Citigroup, has since become the world's largest bank.

His leadership also saw the development of ATMs at banks, the explosive growth of credit-card lending and the expansion of bank branches across the nation and the world.

Wriston died Wednesday at a Manhattan hospital from pancreatic cancer.

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