Friday, July 9, 2010

"Vikram Pandit: Banker of the Year (Yes, Really)" (C)

I just about tipped over when I saw this. From DealJournal:
Vikram Pandit should raise a $350 glass of wine and celebrate: He has just been named Euromoney’s Banker of the Year.

The magazine said Pandit “has done a pretty good job in transforming” Citigroup in his almost three years as chief executive and that perhaps now is the time to start giving some credit where credit is due. And this year isn’t even over yet.
Citigroup, which once lorded over Wall Street as America’s biggest bank, doesn’t exactly seem to be the role model in which others should aspire to. It still remains in the grips of the government’s massive bailout that the Treasury Department is trying to unwind this year.

More to the point, the government appears to be the only shareholder making money on Citigroup these days. The Treasury Department reported this month it pocketed $10.5 billion on the sale of 2.6 billion shares it received as part of the bank’s rescue. That is of little comfort to retail investors, many who have seen their investments in Citigroup nearly wiped out and were left holding a lackluster stock that can’t seem to bust through $4 a share (after trading in the 50s before the credit crunch began in mid 2007)....MORE
Some earlier posts (we've done a lot on C):
Citigroup: "Vikram Pandit’s $350 glass of wine" (C) 
"Citigroup CEO Pandit Expected to Say Citicorp Could Earn $20 Billion By 2012" (C)
Citigroup: "Prince Alwaleed Meets With Qatar Wealth Fund" (C) 
"Ackman Confirms Why Citigroup Could Still Double" (C)"Citigroup: The Case for Continued Growth" (C)
"Bove on Citigroup: Buy" (C) 
"Citigroup's Stock Likely to Keep Climbing: Bove" (C) 
"Citi: Bove’s Still Bullish; $8.50 in Three Years" (C)
"Citigroup, Bank of America Up Six Times by 2015 Says Dick Bove" (BAC; C)  
"Citigroup: The Case for Continued Growth" (C)
"Citigroup: The Case for Continued Growth" (C)