Weekly News Roundup: Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)
Here’s this week’s round-up of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) news briefings. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) company shares ended the week at 30.87 (as of 1/27/2012).
Weekly News Roundup: Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)
Monday 23 January
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) has confirmed the departure of Jonathan Rowland.
The US bank Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) confirmed that its senior investment banker Jonathan Rowland has left the bank to pursue outside interests.
He was the head of the financial entrepreneurs group in Europe.
He joined Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) in 2004 as a managing director in the European financial entrepreneurs group and has held various positions in the bank.
A Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) memo said, “Jonathan Rowland has advised us that he has decided to leave the firm at the year end to pursue outside interests”.
Tuesday 24 January
FINRA has ordered Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) to pay $24 million to advisors after a breach of contract.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ruled that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) has to pay $24 million to financial advisors and their assistants in a breach of contract case filed by James Bryan Minchello and Ryan Minchello in 2009.
They said that the bank failed to pay compensation for certain transactions and demanded $234 million.
FINRA ruled that the bank must pay $15.8 million in compensation, $1 million in sanctions and around $7 million in interest.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) spokeswoman said, “We are disappointed with this outcome and disagree with the decision”.
Wednesday 25 January
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) has been sued for fraud over $1 billion in collateralized debt obligations.
Loreley Financing has sued the US banking giant Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) for fraud over the loss of about $1 billion of a sub-prime collateralized debt obligation investment.
Loreley demanded $965 million from the bank, saying that the bank failed to inform them of the risks of residential mortgage-backed securities.
Loreley said that the bank sold $965 million of notes in CDOs between September 2006 and July 2007 which are worthless now.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said, “We believe the suit is without merit”.
Thursday 26 January
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s CEO has talked of the company continuing to practice responsible finance and supporting banking basics.
The US bank Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s chief executive Vikram Pandit said that the bank is focusing on practicing responsible finance, and that it will continue to support the basics of banking.
He said that banks must balance safety and soundness along with creating new jobs and investments.
Pandit said, “It’s important for the financial system to acknowledge there’s a great deal of anger directed at it. The system must balance safety and soundness but also address the need for growth. Trust has been broken. Banks have to serve clients, not serve themselves. The world needs a recommitment to globalization, and you need a banking system that can support that”.
Friday 27 January
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) CEO has said the company hopes to reduce costs by $2.5-3 billion this year.
The US bank Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)’s chief executive Vikram Pandit said that the bank will reduce its costs between $2.5 billion and $3 billion this year.
The bank will also invest more money this year as it is trying to come out of the crisis.
Pandit said, “We’re going to take out $2.5 or $3 billion dollars in costs verses what we had in 2011…At the same time we are going to invest. But how we are going to invest is going to be related to how we create savings. Some of our re-engineering savings are going to go into investment. The process of rebuilding Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) since the crisis has been a very steady process. We do think our costs are going to be $2.5 to $3 billion dollars lower next year”.
