Citigroup to slash US$400b in assets

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Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../346712/1/.html

 

 

Citigroup to slash US$400b in assets

Posted: 09 May 2008 2310 hrs

 

NEW YORK : Citigroup, the US bank hardest hit by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, said Friday it plans to slash its assets by some 400 billion dollars over the next two to three years.

 

The banking giant made the disclosure in slides posted on its website that cover the presentation it was making to investors and analysts Friday.

 

Citigroup noted that the vast majority of the assets to be shed are within its consumer banking and securities banking operations, 63 percent and 34 percent, respectively.

 

The assets disposal would represent about 20 percent of the company's total assets of 2.2 trillion dollars.

 

The bank said it wanted to focus on stability and growth, citing its unique global presence and a "large footprint in (the) fastest-growing areas in the world."

 

The financial services colossus said it was targeting net revenue growth of around 10 percent for its core operations within a two- to three-year timeframe.

 

Citigroup broke down this outlook, saying it was targeting net revenue growth of 9.0 percent for its global wealth management business and 7.0 percent for its global credit card business.

 

The bank also targeted revenue growth of 8.0 percent for its consumer banking business, 9.0 percent for its securities and banking business and 14 percent for its transaction services business.

 

"The company hopes that this will allow them to put capital back in its core business, which will then increase the firm's return on equity," Briefing.com analysts wrote in a note to clients.

 

Shares of the company, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, slipped 0.08 percent to 24.28 dollars around 1514 GMT in New York.

 

Citigroup's stock is down roughly 17.5 percent since the start of 2008.

 

On April 18, the company posted a net loss of 5.1 billion dollars for the first quarter and said it would cut an additional 9,000 jobs as it struggles with bad bets on sub-prime, or high-risk, mortgages.

 

It was the second quarterly loss for Citigroup, which took a total 13.9 billion dollars in write-downs for the January-March period.

 

Citigroup is the US bank hardest hit by the sub-prime crisis that erupted in August, wreaking havoc on financial markets and leading to a credit squeeze that is stifling growth in the global economy.

 

Citigroup has been plagued by mounting losses from sub-prime mortgage investments amid the worst US housing slump in decades.

 

The bank has raised billions of dollars to shore up its finances, including almost seven billion dollars from a state-controlled Singapore investment fund.

 

Its top investors include the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and former Citigroup chief executive Sanford Weill.

 

- AFP /ls