The Treasury Department said Monday it will begin selling its stake in Citigroup Inc. at a potential profit of about $7.5 billion - not a bad haul for an 18-month investment.
The move is a major step in the governments effort to unravel investments it made in banks under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program at the height of the financial crisis.
Yet a year and a half after Congress passed the big bailout, other parts of it - particularly troubled automakers General Motors and Chrysler and insurer American International Group - show no signs of being profitable.
Despite the returns from - - - - >

The purchase of Citi Property Investors will give New York- based Apollo 65 real estate investments in 26 countries with a net asset value of $3.5 billion, said the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apollos global head of real estate, Joseph Azrack, helped assemble the portfolio when he led the Citigroup unit from 2004 to 2008.
The sale to Apollo shows the units limited partners have confidence in the buyer and a recovery in global prices, said Matthew Anderson, partner - - - - >

The purchase of Citi Property Investors will give New York- based Apollo 65 real estate investments in 26 countries with a net asset value of $3.5 billion, said the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apollos global head of real estate, Joseph Azrack, helped assemble the portfolio when he led the Citigroup unit from 2004 to 2008.
The sale to Apollo shows the units limited partners have confidence in the buyer and a recovery in global prices, said Matthew Anderson, partner - - - - >

Pandit agreed in February 2009 that he would only take a $1 salary for the year after the bank was forced to take billions in federal bailout money. But he had already received $125,000 in salary before making that announcement, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He received no bonus or stock awards.
His only other compensation was $3,750 in 401(k) benefits.
Pandits 2008 compensation package was valued at $38.2 million. However, almost all of that package was made up of restricted stock and stock options that are worth far less today.
Citigroups shares rose a penny to close - - - - >

Ping An, listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai, expects banking, asset management and insurance to each contribute a third of profit within about 10 years. Five years after Citigroup Inc. sold Travelers Life & Annuity and 17 months after Allianz SE agreed to sell Dresdner Bank, President Louis Cheung says Ping An will succeed in its bank-assurance ambition because it developed each business.
“Universal banking is dead, but we are not the same,” he said in an interview in his Shenzhen office. “We built from scratch each - - - - >

The ratio of cash to corporate loans has more than quadrupled from 21 cents in June 2008, according to Jan. 13 Federal Reserve data compiled by Bloomberg. Corporate loans shrank 14 percent to $1.32 trillion during that period as bankers tightened standards to curb record defaults and meet demands by regulators for more liquidity.
Banks are leaving more cash idle amid slack demand from borrowers throughout the economy and concern that regulators will require more liquidity to forestall another financial crisis. Thats crimping profit, and the result - - - - >

Blankfein will receive more than 58,000 shares of restricted stock that cant be cashed in for five years, the bank said in a securities filing Friday. Blankfein will receive no cash as part of his bonus.
Blankfeins bonus was less than some had expected. But it reflects Wall Streets changing pay culture. Several banks are paying their CEO restricted stock and adopting clawback provisions in response to a furor over outsized paydays at financial institutions that helped push the economy into a recession and then later took billions in federal bailouts.
Still, Blankfein led Goldman to a stellar 2009 performance, and some - - - - >

Citi Private Equity, which takes minority stakes in companies and invests in other buyout funds, oversees about $2 billion of Citigroups money, said the people, who declined to be identified because the sale talks are private. The rest is from outside investors. Managers of the decade-old unit, led by Todd Benson and Darren Friedman, have discussed buying it for themselves alongside new partners or with other financing, one person said.
Citigroup, 27 percent owned by the government following a bailout in 2008, is selling almost a third - - - - >

Buckley, 43, is in charge of Citibank Japan Ltd., said the person, who declined to be identified because the appointment hasnt been publicly announced.
Buckley will oversee slimmed-down operations, after Citigroup sold assets in Japan to focus on repaying a government bailout. Citigroup agreed in May to sell its Japanese retail brokerage and parts of its investment-banking unit to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. for 545 billion yen ($5.8 billion).
The Wall Street Journal - - - - >

“The banks are killing the boutiques,” said Daryl Bowden, co-chief executive officer of ICAP Plcs equities unit in Europe and Asia. The London-based firm is the worlds largest broker of trades between banks. “Theyre doubling salaries and offering above-average compensation. Banks today have limited risk so people can work there without fear.”
The benchmark U.K. FTSE 100 indexs 57 percent gain since March and an expected rebound in mergers is prompting firms from UBS AG to Barclays Plc to add traders and sweeten remuneration packages to win - - - - >