WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Citigroup to cut 10 percent of jobs: source
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-15 19:48 But Citigroup is also constrained from growing at home, and Wells Fargo & Co last month derailed its attempt to buy Wachovia Corp and its $418.8 billion of deposits.
Citigroup has lost $20.3 billion in the last year, analysts expect it to lose money this quarter, and some analysts believe it may not be profitable in 2009. The bank was cobbled together principally by Weill, who ceded control to Prince in 2003. But analysts believe Citigroup never invested enough in technology or to make the bank's disparate parts work well together. And Citigroup's geographic diversity, including operations in more than 100 countries, is by some measures now a negative, as customers in Brazil, India and Mexico, like many in the United States, find it harder to keep up with their bills. Pandit on Thursday bought 750,000 Citigroup common shares and 100,000 preferred shares, the first time he has disclosed using his own money to buy the bank's stock. He joined Citigroup in 2007 when he sold his hedge fund, Old Lane Partners LP, to the bank for an estimated $800 million. Citigroup has this week also tried to set aside reports of dissension among its directors with the performance of Pandit and the bank's chairman, Sir Win Bischoff. "The board of directors and management are operating as one team," lead director Richard Parsons, who is also chairman of Time Warner Inc, said in a memo late Thursday to employees. "We are confident that the direction our management team has set is the right direction." Citigroup disclosed on Friday that Pandit acquired 750,000 of the bank's common shares and 100,000 preferred shares on November 13. Its global head of investment banking, Edward Kelly, bought 100,000 common shares and global head of capital markets James Forese acquired 200,000 common shares. |
