Pirker said sale opportunities include Citi’s Global Transaction Services business and its brokerage, Smith Barney. Pandit has said that these two businesses are important to Citigroup — but these two franchises are not core to retail banking and would be
BY MADLEN READ
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Pressure intensified on Citigroup to sell part or all of itself as its stock fell below $4 a share on Friday and fears escalated about future loan losses.
CEO Vikram Pandit told managers earlier in the day he opposes breaking up the company, but the bank’s board of directors was meeting Friday to discuss whether to do exactly that, the Wall Street Journal reported.
What investors are worried about is that all the risky debt sitting on Citigroup’s balance sheet will eventually turn into losses as the economy worsens and the markets stay turbulent — losses that could be nearly impossible to reverse.
Investors were also fearful that the government might orchestrate a takeover of Citigroup over the weekend that could wipe out common shareholders, said Paul Miller, a Friedman Billings Ramsey banking analyst.
The government was instrumental in JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s buyout of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual Inc., deals that left shareholders with little or no payouts.
The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators are monitoring the situation, government officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter.
Concerns about the solvency of financial institutions were starting to ebb after the downfall earlier in the year of Bear Stearns Cos., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and American International Group Inc. But now they are back with a vengeance as the recession deepens, raising the prospects of more big loan losses.
Citigroup is considered the most vulnerable among the major U.S. banks, failing to turn a profit in the past four quarters when rivals such as New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp. managed to do so.
Citigroup’s shares tumbled as low as $3.05 a share Friday before recovering to close at $3.77 a share, a decline of 20 percent that left them at their lowest level in nearly 16 years. It was a continuation of a sharp, weeklong plunge that could not be stemmed by Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s decision Thursday to raise his stake in the company to 5 percent from less than 4 percent.
The shares have shed 60 percent of their value since last Friday.
Citigroup has already raised $75 billion in capital this year, including a $25 billion cash investment from the government — and none of it has been enough to muster confidence.
Raising more money on the open market is “pretty much off the table,” given the recent plunge in the bank’s shares, said William Fitzpatrick, an equity analyst at Optique Capital Management Inc. And raising more cash from outside investors or the government would be “a Band-Aid.”
“You’re going to have to see more sizable divestitures,” Fitzpatrick said. “They’re going to have to make changes here, and they don’t have time on their side anymore.”
People familiar with CEO Pandit’s call Friday morning with senior managers, who spoke anonymously because the comments during the call were not made public, said his message was similar to that at his town hall meeting with employees on Monday — that Citigroup has adequate capital and that he supports the universal bank model for Citigroup, including arms such as Smith Barney.
On Monday, Pandit said the universal banking model is “the right model” and that Citigroup’s strategy is “to be the world’s truly global universal bank.”
Still, one person said, “it’s clear everything is on the table. That wasn’t explicit, but I think it’s clear.”
An outright sale shouldn’t be ruled out, but it appears unlikely, said Alois Pirker, an analyst at financial services research firm Aite Group. Not only are there few potential buyers right now, but “firms prefer to cherry pick,” he said. “If you don’t have a well integrated shop, the benefit of taking over the whole versus pieces diminishes.”
Pirker said sale opportunities include Citi’s Global Transaction Services business and its brokerage, Smith Barney. Pandit has said that these two businesses are important to Citigroup — but these two franchises are not core to retail banking and would be attractive to potential buyers, Pirker said, because they have performed well in the recent turbulent environment.
