Citigroup plays catch-up over taxpayer funds
Citigroup needs to raise $20 billion in common stock to pay back the US government after taxpayers’ funded $45 billion to save it from crashing markets late in 2008. The bank is the last among the US firms to reach agreement on how to pay back its bailout loans, complicated by the fact that it’s still in danger of toppling under the weight of some $300 billion in shaky assets. Citigroup paid for $25 billion in loans by selling preferred stock to the government and now it needs to find a way to pay the other $20 billion so it can get out from under the federal wing. Basically, it has to convince the government that it can stand on its own two feet by persuading investors to buy new common stock. It’s quite a critical moment in the recovery of the US market. Read more: The New York Times
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