Banks
Citi Shedding $400 Billion in Assets
05/09/08 - 04:47 PM EDT
Updated from 3:57 p.m. EDT CitigroupC plans to shed $400 billion in additional businesses over the next three years, as CEO Vikram Pandit continues his shakeup of the troubled bank. At Citi's Investor/Analyst Day in New York Friday, Pandit, on stage with a group of the bank's top managers announced no plans to break up the behemoth bank, as some have called for. He said, however, the bank will focus on paring non-core "legacy assets" -- including real estate, leveraged loans and subprime collateralized debt obligations -- to lower costs and boost flagging profits. "We have made a decision about the assets we want to keep," Pandit told the group of analysts, institutional investors and media in attendance. The executives expressed confidence that they will be able to carry off the sales. Citi already has begun shedding assets. Earlier this month, the bank and partner State StreetSTT sold employee benefits joint venture CitiStreet to INGING for $900 million. Pandit has suggested since he assumed the bank's top post in December that he would look at asset sales and he has followed through in recent weeks with a management reshuffle to refocus the bank's leaders on its core business. In identifying areas for growth, Pandit and the other top executives in attendance stressed Citigroup's strength in emerging markets countries. "We have an emerging markets platform others dream about," said John Havens, CEO of Citigroup's institutional clients group. As he fielded some tough questions from the investors and analysts on hand, Pandit tried to add moments levity to the proceedings. When Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Graseck made a reference to "excess capital," Pandit quipped, "Betsy, let me just start by saying its nice to hear for a change that there are people who think we have excess capital."
The bank plans to sell non-core assets as it tries to boost revenue growth.
A rumored capital injection by the Spanish bank could lead to it acquiring Sovereign outright.
Analysts increasingly say the state of Countrywide's debt, the litany of lawsuits and mounting losses at the lender mean the deal struck in January just doesn't work.
Apple and AT&T were among the most searched stocks on TheStreet.com Friday. Here's what Cramer had to say about them recently.
Catch up on his thinking on the hottest topics of the past week.
Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of earnings and economic data.
Looking for deep value with Defiance Asset Management, polling big investors about where the market's headed, plus much more.
See who made what calls.
3 Stocks I Saw On TVDan Fitzpatrick examines three stocks viewed on Fast Money and Mad Money Today's stocks include Deere & Co., Petrobras and MBIA
TheStreet.com Ratings checks in on First Community Bancorp and First Niagara Financial Group two months after recommending the stock.
Take-Two's latest hit receives a perfect score from industry reviewers.
- Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Mad Money's Rally Playbook
- The Polycarbonate Price Cut
- CalPERS Pushes for Clean House at Standard Pacific
- Investing in China: What You Need to Know
- Coming Week: 'Glimmer of Hope'
- Top Stocks With Insider Buying, Buybacks
- New Solar ETF Helps Spread Sector's Risk
- Feuerstein's Biotech-Stock Mailbag
- Need to Own Energy? Here's How to Do It
- My Company Doesn't Provide Health Insurance (Gulp!)
Sponsored by:

BEAT THE STREET GAME:



