Welcome to myLot!

existing user?

username
password
forgot your password?
 
 

new user?

desired name
 
Your myLot URL will be:
http://myLot.com/desiredname
 

popular interests

 
  family
3 minutes ago
 
  yahoo.com
5 minutes ago
 
  people
7 minutes ago
 
  mylot.com
8 minutes ago
 
  hair care
19 minutes ago
 
  travel
19 minutes ago
 
  make extra money
20 minutes ago
 
  been in love
23 minutes ago
 
  life
26 minutes ago
 
  crafts
29 minutes ago
 
  orkut.com
30 minutes ago
 
  amazon.com
31 minutes ago
 
myLot population
129,408
  users by location
  top referrers
  users by rating
homeinterestsdiscussionsblogsnewsmessages friendsphotosearningsmyLot
web | myLot | discussions | blogs | news | photos

Citigroup to shed nearly $500 billion in assets email this discussion to a friend?

By MADLEN READ
AP Business Writer
 
7 days ago

NEW YORK (AP) - Citigroup Inc.'s new chief executive, Vikram Pandit, plans to stick with a global banking model after months of intense review - but only after shrinking the company by about one-fifth first.


The three-year game plan, revealed Friday, includes getting rid of more businesses, mortgages, real-estate operations and jobs.


The bank aims to shed between $400 billion and $500 billion of its $2.2 trillion in assets and grow revenue by 9 percent over the next few years as it tries to rebound from massive losses tied to deterioration in the credit markets.


The $500 billion in so-called "legacy assets" the bank intends to sell off or allow to mature include yet-to-be-named noncore businesses, as well as assets in Citigroup's securities and consumer banking segments. That includes mortgages and other real estate-related holdings.


Meanwhile, the anticipated rise in revenue will derive largely from cutting costs - which Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden said will mean more job reductions. Citi has so far lowered its headcount by 13,200 since last summer.


The moves could mean the bank loses its standing as the nation's largest if it doesn't grow other assets simultaneously. According to their most recent regulatory filings, Bank of America Corp. has $1.74 trillion in total assets, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. has $1.64 trillion.


The investor presentation Friday did not come as a huge surprise. Citigroup has already begun its winding-down process by writing down about $38 billion in soured debt since last summer, and setting plans to reduce its residential mortgage assets by $45 billion over the coming year. It has also sold businesses including CitiCapital, CitiStreet and Diners Club.


These moves arrived on top of huge stock sales to outside investors, including government funds in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.


Roger Lister, chief credit officer for U.S. financial institutions at the bond rating company DBRS, said Citi should be able to find buyers for its assets, as most are not particularly risky, and instead are simply low revenue generators for the bank.


"The plan makes sense - in some ways, it's the easy part," Lister said.


While others agreed that Citi had to sell assets, not everyone was certain how easy such a sale would be.


"I'm not sure they have half a trillion in good assets that someone wants to buy. But they're doing the obvious - they have no choice," said R. Christopher Whalen, managing director of consulting firm Institutional Risk Analytics.


Either way, whether Pandit's plan proves successful will determine his legacy as a turnaround specialist for a company that many claim was struggling long before the housing market collapse.


Pandit joined Citigroup in July 2007, when it bought his hedge fund Old Lane. The board fast-tracked him to the CEO spot in December, five weeks after former CEO Charles Prince was forced out following the bank's dismal performance during the third quarter.


"This is going to be a difficult environment to judge success," said Lister, who worked at Citigroup during the late 1980s and early 1990s. "He has done what I think one would have expected of a dynamic, experienced business leader ... It's the execution that's going to be the challenge."


Citigroup has been under heavy investor scrutiny over the past year as the value of its stock tumbled. Many Citigroup holders have been angling for a large-scale overhaul of the company's structure. Those shareholders' hopes have dwindled, with executives saying they intend to keep the bank's major parts intact.


"We believe the right model is a global universal bank," Pandit said.


But Citigroup executives did point out several shortcomings at the bank that need to be fixed, including organizational redundancies, a fractured corporate culture and waning market share in U.S. retail banking. And the company introduced a new slogan as part of its revamping efforts: "Citi never sleeps."


But the road to recovery is going to be a difficult one.


Most analysts believe that while the bulk of the bank's write-downs are through, there are still at least some more to come. In a note Thursday, Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Mayo estimated that Citigroup's $29 billion bucket of mortgage investments and related structured products has the potential to result in another $15 billion write-down.


And given that Citigroup has $63 billion in exposure to home equity loans, $150 billion to mortgages, $21 billion to auto loans, and exposure to other loans such as credit cards, Mayo estimated that the bank will have to build up its reserves by an additional $5 billion as the U.S. consumer credit climate deteriorates.


Citigroup shares slipped 67 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $23.63 Friday. The stock is down about 18 percent in 2008 and 55 percent over the last 12 months.


 

AP Business Writer Stephen Bernard in New York contributed to this report.

tags:  citigroup
 
1. myLot reputation of 89/100. alindahaw (299)   7 days ago

Citigroup is suffering from heavy losses just like many other financial companies in the market. Let's just hope that their game plan works well and not cause further damage to our economy. We people at the stock market at quite volatile these days and any hint of something bad could set off a lot of fuss.

 

other latest business news

Oil sets record near $128; pump price at high, too

News that Saudi Arabia had boosted its oil output by 300,000 barrels a day was greeted as a non-event on oil markets _ the move wasn't anywhere near the kind of production increase needed to bring...

Started in latest business news • 1 response • Last response by  • 3 hours ago
Tags: oil prices, soaring
FDA orders Texas plant to shut down, recall smoked seafood

Federal health authorities are directing a Pasadena, Texas, company to shut down and recall all its dried smoked catfish steaks and other smoked seafood produced since June 2007 because it failed to...

Started in latest business news • 3 hours ago • 0 responses
Tags: smoked seafood recall
GE confirms plans to exit appliance business

NEW HAVEN, Conn. _ General Electric Co. plans to sell or spin off the business that for a century has put appliances in American homes, a decision that could presage further asset sales, analysts...

Started in latest business news • 1 response • Last response by  • 6 hours ago
Tags: general electric appliance, ge, appliance, exit
Treasurys fall amid more anxiety about inflation

Treasurys fell Friday after rising oil prices had investors worrying about inflation's impact on fixed-income returns.

Started in latest business news • 1 response • Last response by mensab (0) • 2 hours ago
Tags: bonds, trasury, fall
GM workers ratify local contract to end that strike

A striking United Auto Workers local at a key General Motors Corp. factory ratified a new contract with the company Friday afternoon and will resume production on Monday.

Started in latest business news • 5 hours ago • 0 responses
Tags: gm strikes
  privacy  •  terms  •  about myLot  •  legal  •  contact  •  FAQs  •  RSS  •  toolbar  •  guidelines  •  advertise  

©2008 myLot™. All Rights Reserved.