Citigroup Brought To Its Knees

In September 2007, with Wall Street confronting a crisis caused by too many souring mortgages, Citigroup executives gathered in a wood-paneled library to assess their own well-being.

There, Citigroup's chief executive, Charles O. Prince III, learned for the first time that the bank owned about $43 billion in mortgage-related assets. He asked Thomas G. Maheras, who oversaw trading at the bank, whether everything was O.K.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[diddleydoo]

I can see an argument for bailing out automakers more than these guys.

[leftLibertarian]

No bailout. Let them die die die.

[Rule Of Law]

Brought to its knees? The job won't be done until it is flat on its back with a stake through its heart--And Goldman-Sachs dragged kicking and screaming into the sunlight to be burned to death.

[HappyIdiot51]

I'm guessin' you like TrueBlood too.

[xmw]

We don't have Citi here in NC but I have heard the nightmare stories. i brother banked with them In Cali. "Banked" being the operative phrase. I suspect that in time we will only have a couple of banks. I see bank of America taking over the Federal Reserve.

[KathyinCT]

So nice to see Citi on its knees. Most anti-customer bank in America.

For years they have allowed checking account customers to carry an overdraft protection line called Checking Plus -- if your balance is low and a check clears, the bank just transferred money from that Checking Plus line. Then you had to transfer it back once you deposited funds. (Some banks do that automatically when you make a deposit, but with Citi, you had to do it yourself.)

NOW, suddenly, a new policy -- every time you have to use Checking Plus, BEFORE they transfer the money, they charge you $10. So let's say you've got $50 in the bank, and $100 check comes through. They charge you $10 overdraft, and then transfer $50 to cover the check. Another check comes in -- another $10.

You get the picture -- in any 2 or 3 day period, you could be out $30 or more on these hidden fees.

And if you want to phone someone at "your" branch -- forget about it. All phone numbers are unlisted. You call Citi's 800 # and speak to someone in India, and if you call back 3 times, you'll get 3 totally different answers. If you want to talk to a human being who knows about your account -- get in the car and drive over to the branch.

Banked with them for years out of habit -- but with these latest fees, we're taking a drive this week -- to

[tomas0808]

Yep Citi are scum. They bombarded me with credit cards when I was a student and didn't even have a job. Luckily I knew enough to know that companies that aggressively market are liars and thieves and threw them out. It's no coincidence that all the banks that market aggressively are the ones in trouble. Greedy scum. How many students and young people that didn't know better are now trapped for years by their credit cards?

[HappyIdiot51]

Not true. Citi deserves the same respect as any other institution in this country.

[Beachchick]

This is insane --the financial system is insolvent and needs to be restructured. Some banks will have to go down. Why continue to throw money at a hopeless situation, unless the treasury is propping up bad institutions to allow the titans of destruction to loot public funds, a bankruptcy for profit.

[HappyIdiot51]

True. Now let's get busy and change it.

[Beachchick]

I wish Obama wasn't surrounding himself with Rubin proteges and market disciples. We need fresh ideas. I am holding out hope that Obama stands up to Wall Street. I am tired of serving the market. You can't sneeze anymore without the market reacting.

[bethel1974]

Deregulation has been the economic policy for 30 years per se the republicans. It will work just give it enough time. Whatever, it started with Reagonomics and ended with BushCo. Clinton was the only one who got it right. Producing a tangible product will create jobs,expand the tax base and increase spending among the consumers. This take everything and give it to the rich so they can decide when or if they will give you a job or money is baloney. The republicans has marginalized themselves for at least 25 years with the failure of the debt/trickle down economics.

[leftLibertarian]

"Clinton was the only one who got it right." ?//
in your dreams...

[HappyIdiot51]

Can you please enlighten on who has got it right? Please.

[Beachchick]

I know --we are commenting on an article about a grossly mismanaged and reckless financial institution headed by Clinton's economic czar. Nuff said!

[tomas0808]

He made some mistakes but it is the Repub philosophy that is flawed. He is the only pres in the last thirty years to significantly create jobs (2.5 mill) and reduce the deficit.

[grn1]

Operating like thieves. Citi took over my bank, California Federal. I had overdraft protection on my business account. Sometimes it is nearlty impossible to get paid on time by hollywood. Without notification, my overdraft was no longer policy with Citi, they charged me $30 per 60 items. All checks not paid were of very low value, while the largest checks passed. What a scheme.

[SCG]

Yep.

[tomas0808]

Go somewhere else. Wells Fargo is pretty decent, as far as banks go

[tbone99]

" Normally, a big bank would never allow the word of just one executive to carry so much weight. Instead, it would have its risk managers aggressively look over any shoulder and guard against trading or lending excesses.

But many Citigroup insiders say the bank"s risk managers never investigated deeply enough. Because of longstanding ties that clouded their judgment, the very people charged with overseeing deal makers eager to increase short-term earnings " and executives" multimillion-dollar bonuses " failed to rein them in, these insiders say."

In a word - ENRON , despite the opportunity we had to learn.. But The Decider doesn't learn lessons - HE DECIDES ( to take it out of our pockets and put it in the pockets of his corporate buddies.) Despite this catasttrophe of deregulation dear leader continues to decide to hand out our money with no strings or conditions to self serving corporate cabals.

At this very moment the big banks are using the billion dollar bail out we just gave them to buy assets overseas, and build their territory ,while refusing to make the loans to American businesses and individuals that would keep our economy from financial death. They are calling in their cards and stockpiling

[HappyIdiot51]

What is normal?

[fredamae]

Are We powerless to stop this? Unreal!!!

[000Jade000]

We always have been powerless. Here's a "fun" history lesson:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10651

You have to love the opening quote: "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies." (Thomas Jefferson, US President; 1743 - 1826)

[mbondr]

Upper class twits.

[Erdgeist]

It's important to keep in mind that the Citigroup's plunge in its stock price is probably result of SEC Chairman Cox's stupidity; who got rid of the uptick rule; who has basically shown a lot of incompetence. Cox failed to examine the research data correctly which led to his decision to dump the uptick rule which prevents Bear raids on stocks by aggressive hedge funds. Here is a digest of the NECSI Technical Report 2008-11 on Cox's booboo. http://www.physorg.com/news146228135.html

[HappyIdiot51]

All I can say is focus on the positive. Change begins with you.

[aBr1t]

History lesson!!

The FED is NOT a bank: It is infact a Private GROUP of banks that charge the US goverment INTREST on the money it prints!

The problem is the BANKS

someone once said "follow the money" well we all know one thing the BANKS PRINT IT.

This is has nothing to do with any company, or country, its about the sheer lack of brains in people to understand we are being shafted by the banks who PRINT and OWN all the goverments.

Rothchild
JP Morgan
Rockerfella

just look up this lot very interesting bunch of people to say the least!

[sunzen]

You have it backwards...the USA has been brought to its knees by these Banks including CITI...just watch as they pump another 25 - 50 Billion into CITI to stop the so called economic collapse...Wake up America they are raiding the Treasury to pay off bad bets on derivatives...oh i guess it does not matter there are just a bunch of I.O.U's to china in the treasury anyway.

[HappyIdiot51]

Word. Wake up America. This is our country. We finally have someone who gives a crap. Let's make this work. Otherwise, we are doomed.

[tbone99]

he may give a crap - but is there enough left to work with?

[000Jade000]

Bad debts on derivatives = $62 trillion.

GDP of all countries combined = $60 trillion.

[blowhard]

Where is Sallie Krawcheck to save Citi? The hype on Wall Street is nauseating.

[HappyIdiot51]

What a blowhard question.

[aBr1t]

The reason this is all happening is a very simple...


GREED and POWER

the rest is bullsh1t no matter how many time you want to spin it.

they just left out "logic" stupid mofos

[pbley68]

Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate.

Bertrand Russell
1872-1970. British logician and philosopher

[hnealehcn]

Capitalism failed. We must use Swedish system.

[Pronto]

Capitalism did not fail. Government interference with Capitalism failed . . . as usual.

[Soulsurfer]

Unregulated capitalism is just dog eat dog...........do you really want to live in a society like that? I was under the impression we had progressed by, you know, coming down out of the trees, making fire, building shelters................

[SLBD]

One thing that makes me smile.

Is that the bankers themselves don't even

understand their own financial tools

that are destroying them.

Well the masters of the universe shouldn't have tried to play g-od.

[HappyIdiot51]

if it doesn't work, fix it.

[SLBD]

with capitalist glue?

Da-mn thing will fall apart again.

[tbone99]

Don't kid yourself... believe me they will come out on top.

with the government in their pocket and 250 million taxpayers footing the bill they don't have to understand their errors - they just reach in our pockets and keep going.
All those fees they can increase, the interest rates & the finance charges on credit cards ... they are not going to hurt because they screwed up. We are.