And the stock market is in some ways more democratic than ever, despite the apparent trend away from the individual investor and toward the mammoth institution.

The most important mammoth institutions - mutual funds - are actually collections of small investors who retain day-to-day control over their money.

This mammoth institution is dedicated to the Victorian pursuit of collecting and cataloguing.

Citicorp has long been one of the anchors of New York City's economy, but in recent years, the company's chairman has often spoken of leaving, wondering whether a mammoth financial institution with such global reach would perhaps be better off if it were not so rooted to one place.

A mammoth institution in itself, its history is linked with the renaissance of Indian art.

Several Japanese bankers said the merger could be unpopular with other banks here, which would have to compete with a mammoth new institution.

The notice caps a difficult week for Charles O. Prince, Citigroup's chief executive, who has been taking pains to prove to regulators as well as to investors that Citigroup, a mammoth financial institution with offices and businesses that span the globe, can at the same time run a clean ship.

The enthusiasm of the employees helped improve the efficiency of the mammoth institution.