Citigroup Subject to Contingency Talks by Officials, WSJ Says

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aWC8k_9kp5Pk&refer=us

March 10 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government is examining ways to further stabilize Citigroup Inc. if needed, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people it didn’t identify.

Federal officials called the steps “contingency planning” and aren’t expecting a sudden turn for the worse, the Journal said. Executives at Citigroup, whose shares have slumped 69 percent in the past month, haven’t seen signs of corporate clients withdrawing business, the report said.

Citigroup, once the world’s biggest bank by market value, dropped below $1 in New York trading for the first time on March 5 as investors lost confidence the shares can recover after five straight quarters of losses and a government rescue. It now ranks 184th among global financial companies by market capitalization, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The talks involve officials from the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Journal said. Officials say no new rescue is imminent, according to the report.

Citigroup, run by Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, has already accepted three government bailouts as the credit seizure forced it to write down toxic assets.

[Selatius]

1. Citigroup looks like it's on its deathbed. nt