This is the historical archive of Banamex that Citigroup puts up for sale

The Historical Archive of the National Bank of Mexico, which was founded in 1991, contains photographs, old documents and even the first ATM that the country had.

Citigroup announced the last january 11 that would put its retail business in Mexico up for sale, as well as the cultural heritage, which encompasses the historic precincts.

To understand the quantity and value of the history of this bank, one must know that it was not always the National Bank of Mexico (Banamex).

The origins date back to the beginning of 1880, when the government created by concession the Mexican National Bank and four years later merges it with the Mexican Mercantile Bank, which at that time operated thanks to Spanish investments. The union of both companies gave birth to Banamex.

How is the Citibanamex vault?

The vault has changed places over the years. It is currently on the second floor of the Palacio de Valparaíso, where the entire photographic, numismatic and documentary archive of the bank is housed.

In the Porfirian era, the vault was used to store customers’ valuables. The doors were made of steel and each of them has a weight of half a ton. The company responsible for the manufacture was Panzer, famous in World War II for the manufacture of war tanks, explained Fernando Corona Torres.

Inside the enclosure, which has to maintain a specific temperature and humidity to preserve the documents, there are emblematic photographs such as the celebration of the first meeting of the Board of Directors or the file where the directory of the bank’s first general manager is kept.

numismatic collection

Fernando Corona Torres explained that the collection of bills and coins exceeds 2,200 pieces. You can see the first banknote, which was a revolution among people because they were used to heavy silver or copper coins.

There are also the banknotes of each state of the Republic or those that mining companies gave to their workers to pay them for their work days.

The coordinator of the Citibanamex Historical Archive commented that the appraisal of this collection is done every three or five years to consider how much the value of the pieces has changed.

You can also see the first shares issued by the bank.

The first ATM

Already towards the end of the 1960s, the first credit cards began to be distributed. At first, they were only granted to businessmen and as the years passed they were also given to individuals.

Since they were initially only given to clients with a high income, the bank began to distribute the first ATMs.

The first was installed in Plaza Satélite in May 1972, just one year after the shopping center was inaugurated.

Fernando Corona commented that this ATM was connected with the interest of the bank to reach the upper class of the area. The arrival of the ATM revolutionized the way in which customer service was given, since for the first time a service that worked 24 hours could be offered.

How can I visit the venue?

The archive housed in the Palacio de Valparaíso attracts more than 200 visitors a year, including students from abroad.

It can be consulted by researchers, students and the general public. Guided tours are carried out free of charge from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

To access the site, you must present an official identification that accredits you as a researcher or student or the INE. For the development of investigations, it is necessary to send a letter about the objective of the investigation by mail to [email protected].