Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit contends the bank whose stock fell below $1 last week is poised for a rebirth. As reported in a March 9 article in the Wall Street Journal, Pandit told colleagues that despite Citi’s ongoing financial issues and market perception, the bank’s capital strength and earnings power ultimately would enable the company to regain its fiscal footing in the future.
In the memo to employees, Pandit noted Citigroup’s “relatively stable” deposits, and that the bank had conducted its own stress tests using assumptions more “pessimistic than those of the Federal Reserve.” Pandit did not elaborate, however, about Citigroup’s internal stress tests.
At one time, Citigroup was the world’s biggest bank by market value. Two years ago, that value was more than $270 billion. Today, Citigroup stock has plummeted 95%, reducing the bank’s market value to about $5.8 billion.