Citigroup

Baltimore-based CitiFinancial, the consumer lending arm of financial giant Citigroup Inc., will be rebranded under a new name that sheds its corporate parent's Wall Street identity to reflect more Main Street roots. CitiFinancial's new name as OneMain Financial, announced Wednesday, comes after the company completed a reorganization as it continues to explore a sale. The restructuring involved closing 330 branches across the U.S., including six in Maryland, and creating a new network of servicing branches focused on helping existing customers with loan modifications.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge has given the go-ahead for Citigroup to sell property in South Baltimore's Westport neighborhood that is owned by developer Patrick Turner, according to court records. In November, lender Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp. filed a foreclosure action against Turner-affiliated companies, alleging they owed nearly $32 million on a 2007 loan. Several parcels of land -- 2401 through 2417 Kloman Street -- were secured as collateral for the loan, according to court records.

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc. became the latest bank to take a cautious view of consumers' credit problems, reporting a $7.77 billion fourth-quarter loss due to failed loans and the costs of repaying $20 billion in government bailout money. Tuesday's earnings report met analysts' expectations. - Associated Press

Citigroup announced this morning it would lay off 11,000 employees - about 4 percent of its workforce - to save money. A Citi spokesman said the layoffs are expected to have little impact in Maryland, where the company employs 3,600 workers. Less than 1 percent of those Maryland employees will be affected, the spokesman said. Citi plans to close one branch here while other affected Marylanders work in the operations and technology group, the spokesman said. The location of the branch wasn't disclosed.

Citigroup announced this morning it would lay off 11,000 employees - about 4 percent of its workforce - to save money. A Citi spokesman said the layoffs are expected to have little impact in Maryland, where the company employs 3,600 workers. Less than 1 percent of those Maryland employees will be affected, the spokesman said. Citi plans to close one branch here while other affected Marylanders work in the operations and technology group, the spokesman said. The location of the branch wasn't disclosed.

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc. said yesterday that board member Richard Parsons - the former CEO of Time Warner - will soon be taking over as chairman. The appointment is effective Feb. 23, Citigroup said in a statement. Parsons succeeds Win Bischoff, who became chairman in December 2007. Bischoff is not putting himself up for re-election at the board's annual meeting this spring and will retire later this year, Citigroup says. The embattled bank has suffered five consecutive quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid as it struggles to stay afloat amid the credit crisis.

Shares of Citigroup Inc. fell below $9 a share for the first time since 1996 yesterday after a published report said it was looking for a new chairman and that it is considering a bid for Bethesda-based Chevy Chase Bank. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter, that some Citigroup board members are increasingly dissatisfied with the company's performance and are considering replacing Chairman Sir Win Bischoff. The board named Bischoff chairman in December after ousting former CEO Charles Prince.

Dissident shareholders waging proxy fights at mutual funds to be transferred from Citigroup Inc. to Legg Mason Inc. were dealt a blow yesterday when independent advisers sided against them. Two investment firms are urging fellow shareholders in six of Citigroup's funds to vote against new management agreements, which would be required once the $3.7 billion deal with Legg Mason is complete. Baltimore-based Legg Mason agreed in June to swap its brokerage business for Citigroup's mutual funds and other assets.

Citigroup Inc. announced plans yesterday to sell more than $1 billion worth of Legg Mason Inc. stock it received as part of a business swap the two financial firms completed in December. Under the plan, Citigroup will unload 8 million shares in a public offering, reducing its stake in Baltimore-based Legg Mason to about 10.7 million shares, or about 8 percent of the company. Citigroup, based in New York, has the option to sell another 1.2 million shares. Legg Mason will not receive any proceeds from the transaction.

NEW YORK - Citigroup announced late last night that it had persuaded a New York judge to temporarily block Wells Fargo from acquiring Wachovia, firing the first shot in what could be a prolonged legal battle. Citigroup has accused Wells Fargo of wrecking its plan to acquire Wachovia's banking operations for $2.2 billion, or $1 a share, in a deal arranged by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Four days after that deal was struck, it fell apart when Wachovia agreed to Wells Fargo's offer to pay seven times as much for the entire company.

News that Citigroup is foreclosing on developer Patrick Turner's Westport Waterfront property did not alarm Keisha Allen, the leader of the Westport Neighborhood Association. "To the average person, it looks like everything in Westport is tied up with Pat Turner," Allen said Tuesday. But, she said, "the waterfront is the icing on the cake of development that's happening here. " Financial troubles for Turner's massive mixed-use development along the western shore of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco river have been simmering for months, culminating with Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. That’s according to a Bloomberg survey of more than 1,263 traders, investors and analysts this week. Fifty-four percent of respondents had an unfavorable view of Wall Street’s Goldman Sachs. That’s more than twice the percentage who had a negative view of JPMorgan Chase, Bloomberg reported. Some of the others in the running: 49 percent polled viewed Citigroup negatively, while 48 percent had a dim view of Bank of America.  Thirty-five percent had a unfavorable opinion of Deutsche Bank.

Baltimore-based CitiFinancial, the consumer lending arm of financial giant Citigroup Inc., will be rebranded under a new name that sheds its corporate parent's Wall Street identity to reflect more Main Street roots. CitiFinancial's new name as OneMain Financial, announced Wednesday, comes after the company completed a reorganization as it continues to explore a sale. The restructuring involved closing 330 branches across the U.S., including six in Maryland, and creating a new network of servicing branches focused on helping existing customers with loan modifications.

Baltimore-based CitiFinancial, the consumer lending arm of financial giant Citigroup Inc., said Tuesday that it plans to close 330 branches across the U.S., including six in Maryland, as it reorganizes its business and continues to look for a buyer. The move will result in 500 to 600 job cuts, though it's not known how many employees will be affected in Maryland, according to CitiFinancial. Citigroup has been trying to sell CitiFinancial and other distressed assets since last year amid the financial crisis.

WASHINGTON - Facing sharp questions from bailout overseers, Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit said Thursday the bank is "fundamentally different" from the tangled behemoth that took more than $45 billion in government aid during the recent financial crisis. "I am pleased to say we are in a far different and much healthier position," Pandit said in testimony before the Congressional Oversight Panel. The independent watchdog oversees the $700 billion financial bailout. Pandit said Citi's experience during the crisis showed the need for a clearer process to deal with large, failing financial firms.

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc. became the latest bank to take a cautious view of consumers' credit problems, reporting a $7.77 billion fourth-quarter loss due to failed loans and the costs of repaying $20 billion in government bailout money. Tuesday's earnings report met analysts' expectations. - Associated Press

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc.'s stock sank yesterday to its lowest levels since November as investors wondered how much more cash the troubled bank will need. Citigroup Inc., in an effort to raise capital, is hammering out a deal to sell the bulk of its retail brokerage to Morgan Stanley. The joint venture - expected to be announced this week - would lead to an after-tax gain for Citigroup of $5 billion to $6 billion, a person close to the negotiations said yesterday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the talks.

NEW YORK -- Citigroup's embattled chairman and chief executive has told senior officials at the bank that he expected to leave after an emergency board meeting this weekend, a banking industry official with ties to Citigroup said last night. Chairman Charles O. Prince III, 57, had indicated that he expected to leave during the meeting, the official said. Directors also are expected to discuss the possibility of another large write-off. "The entire organization is in uproar and people have been looking for leadership," said one Citigroup executive familiar with the situation.

Citigroup dumps Phibro unit, limits U.S. scrutiny NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc. is removing one of the irritants in its relationship with the government: its Phibro commodities trading division, which is paying one trader an estimated $100 million this year. The deal announced Friday carries a trade-off for Citigroup: While the $250 million sale to Occidental Petroleum Corp. means a bit less government scrutiny, it also means the bank is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual income that could help repay $49 billion in bailout money.