It could only be so long, of course, before people started to call for a Citi break-up.
On Monday, rating agency Fitch downgraded Citi’s institutional rating from AA+ to AA. Standard and Poor’s have the bank under review. CreditSights cut to low-AA with negative outlook. And most echo CIBC’s belief that things don’t look great for the Citi dividend.
The bank’s largest shareholder is itching for change. Gone is the Prince formerly known as CEO and Kingdom Holdings is already out in the open and calling for the return of Sandy Weil to the helm. Kingdom – still controlled by a Prince (Alwaleed Bin Talal) – owns a 3.6 per cent stake.
Another day, another broadside from Meredith Whitney. The analyst at CIBC who sparked the latest shower of criticism, has gone a step further from her note yesterday. According to the Telegraph, she’s called for a Citi break up. More than that, Mrs Whitney thinks it’s inevitable.
“That’s really the only thing they can do. They don’t have the capital to manage it as an ongoing entity.”
First note of a chorus, we suspect. How long will the interim management hold up?