Citigroup: Financial Winners and Losers
(Updated with closing stock prices)
NEW YORK (
) --
(C) - Get Report
was among the winners of the financial sector Thursday, after the bank said its shareholders approved a plan to increase its number of outstanding shares, so it can complete its debt-exchange program. This program will give the U.S. government ownership of 33.6% of outstanding shares.
The bank said shareholders approved a resolution that will allow it to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock to 60 billion. The increase allows Citi to convert the U.S. government and certain private holders' interim securities to common stock, completing its previously announced share exchange. The conversion will be completed by Sept. 10, Citi said.
Additionally, Citi's shareholders authorized the bank's board of directors to effect a reverse stock split, at one of seven ratios, by June 30, 2010. Citigroup shares closed up 21 cents, or 4.6%, to $4.77.
Other bank stocks also traded higher.
Bank of America
(BAC) - Get Report
rose 3.5% to $16.84, after it was confirmed by FDIC data that it is still the largest bank in the country, according to assets.
JPMorgan Chase
(JPM) - Get Report
added $1.25 to finish the day at $42.11 and
Wells Fargo
(WFC) - Get Report
gained 82 cents to close at $26.91.
The
KBW Bank
index jumped 1.10 to 44.62 and the
New York Stock Exchange Financial Sector
index rose 94.77 to 4633.19.
Elsewhere, shares of
American International Group
(AIG) - Get Report
rose 10% following a
Wall Street Journal
report that the insurer's board members plan to address new CEO
recent tough talk at a retreat this month, according to people familiar with the situation.
The board's ire comes after Benmosche said, in a recording leaked to
Bloomberg
, that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo doesn't deserve his job. He also called lawmakers "crazies" down in Washington. AIG closed out the trading session up $3.80 at $41.75.
Short-covering on
Fannie Mae
(FNM)
stock pushed the shares up as high as 15% in early trading. The shorts were caught on the wrong side after filings showed that Morgan Stanley funds and hedge fund manager D.E. Shaw had increased their stakes in the government-owned mortgage lender.
Fannie and
Freddie Mac
(FRE)
have also been in the news lately, as the Mortgage Bankers Association put forth its ideas on how to best deal with the mortgage behemoths. Freddie shares climbed to $1.87 adding 23 cents, while Fannie jumped in value to $1.64 for a gain 27 cents or a whopping 19.7% increase for the day.
On the losing side of the coin were rating agencies
Moody's Corp.
(MCO) - Get Report
and
McGraw-Hill
(MHP)
, parent of Standard & Poor's, after a judge rejected an appeal to dismiss a fraud suit brought against them regarding subprime mortgages. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and King County in Washington State filed the claim stating that the risks in the investments were not disclosed.
Moody's dropped 7% to $24.26 and McGraw Hill slid 10.2% to $29.01. The ruling could affect other pending cases. Additionally, the SEC continues to review the issue with the raters and a report is expected to be published in the future.
