Word: bankes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Perhaps Citi should have slept on Dubai. A year and a half ago, Citigroup became the first U.S. bank to relocate one of its rising stars, Alberto Verme, an investment banking executive, to the booming gulf state. At the time, Citi CEO Vikram Pandit said the move was a sign that the bank was "convinced of the region's long-term and immense growth opportunities...
...sure, Citi's potential losses in Dubai are not enough to bring down the bank. Citi has $2 trillion in assets. And the Dubai losses look puny compared to huge hits the bank took in subprime lending and the mortgage market in general. But Citi was far more aggressive in courting Dubai business and left itself open to far more losses in what now seems was a financial house of cards than any other U.S. bank. JPMorgan, the U.S. bank with the next highest loan exposure to Dubai, has $2.5 billion in loans outstanding in the U.A.E., according to Creditsights...
...What's more, Citi's bid to expand in the Middle East at a time when the U.S. and the rest of the world was entering a financial crisis appears to be yet another management blunder for what was once the world's largest bank. It's also likely a black eye for Citi as it tries to convince the U.S. government that is wealthy and wise enough to pay back its government support. And unlike the mortgage mistakes, which can be blamed on past management, the rush to profits in Dubai happened under CEO Pandit...
...That means when there are losses anywhere you are going to get hit." Things were booming there back in 2008 when Citi sent Verme to the gulf state - from 2004 through 2008 Citi's revenues from the region grew at a 30% average annual rate. He had run the bank's Latin American operations before being promoted to co-head of investment banking. In 2006, trade publication the Banker named Verme one of the top 10 movers and shakers in the Latin American business. It was big news in banking circles when Citi tapped Verme for Dubai. (See the best...
...original version of this story has been updated to reflect Citi's contention that Verme's job change was not a demotion, but a promotion, that Dubai was not a 'financial house of cards,' and that the bank is 'comfortable with [its] investment across all of the UAE.' When TIME originally asked about its operations in Dubai, Citi declined to discuss the situation in detail, or for publication...