Word: citigroup
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When the results of the government's financial stress tests were announced last week, Citigroup seemed to have dodged a bullet. The bank, long thought to be in the worst shape among the nation's largest lenders, was said to need just $5.5 billion in capital in order to return to health. No small sum, to be sure. But amazingly, what Citi was required to raise was less than half the $13.7 billion that competitor Wells Fargo was told to come up with. And far less than the nearly $34 billion that regulators said Bank of America needed to bolster...
...since the full results of the stress test have come out, Citi's shares are down 8%, to a recent $3.50. That compares to a drop of just 2.5% in the same time for JPMorgan, which was deemed to be among the banks that are relatively healthy. "I think Citigroup is an interesting stock, but we don't own it," says Edward Maran, portfolio manager of the Thornburg Value Fund. "If the government gives the company the time to earn its way out of its problems, then I think the stock has a lot of upside. The question is whether...
...according to the Treasury and the Federal Reserve, those firms could lose nearly $600 billion by the end of 2010, on top of the $350 billion they've already lost since mid-2007. Bank of America needs nearly $33.9 billion in new capital, Wells Fargo needs $13.7 billion and Citigroup needs $5.5 billion. Altogether, 10 of the top 19 need $74.6 billion in additional capital. (See who's who in Obama's office...
...Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the tests, he said they would determine how much additional capital banks needed to remain solvent, and the government would then provide that amount to the banks. Now the Treasury is giving the banks that are believed to need additional money, including Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, until June 8 to come up with their own plan to fix their financial problems. (See pictures of the dangers of printing money...
...similar to the strategy the government took with the automakers, which were also asked to present a recovery plan before receiving new government funds. So, just like the automakers, expect some big changes at the banks over the next month. Top executives of Bank of America, Citigroup or Wells Fargo could be out of a job. The government may also decide it wants a much bigger stake in the banks than some are currently letting on. Maybe Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke are better at tying up loose ends than Steve Rattner and the Automotive Task Force, but odds...