Citi Faces $6-$10 Billion Write-Off; Prince Is OutCITIGROUP, STOCKS, FINANCIAL STOCKS, BOARD MEETING, CHUCK PRINCE, CEOBy David FaberCNBC.com| 03 Nov 2007 | 06:42 PM ET Citigroup faces a write-down in the range of $6 billion to $10 billion, mainly because of exposure to subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations, CNBC has learned. Citi Chief Executive Officer Charles Prince has already offered to resign from his post, according to a person familiar with the situation, and the financial services company's board is expected to accept his resignation at an emergency meeting scheduled for Sunday. The size of Citi's write-off is still being debated, though a source told CNBC that Citi's board is pressing company finance executives to clarify the issue. The firm's audit committee is also scheduled to meet Sunday, in advance of the emergency board meeting. No interim successor has been named for Prince, and while one candidate leads other prospects, the decision is still "up in the air," according the source. An interim leader will be designated while a full search begins immediately for a successor to Prince. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Robert Rubin is being considered as an interim replacement. But Rubin, the former Treasury secretary and current chairman of Citi's executive committee, has shown hesitancy about taking on the assignment. Citi Worries Spark Market Selloff The emergency meeting comes after analysts raised concerns about the banking giant's financial health this week, triggering a selloff in banking and brokerage stocks. A spokesman for Citigroup on Friday declined comment about the content of Sunday's meeting, but the bank's stock rose in after-hour trading. Prince has already been under fire for huge write-downs, declining profit and evaporating shareholder value. The analyst comments this week heightened worries about the bank and raised questions about Prince's future as CEO. Citigroup's stock first got hammered on Thursday after an analyst said that subprime-related losses could force the bank to scramble for capital. "We believe over (the) near term, Citigroup will need to raise over $30 billion in capital through either asset sales, a dividend cut, a capital raise, or combination thereof," wrote Meredith Whitney, an analyst at CIBC World Markets. Downgrade Hits Stock Her downgrade of Citigroup to "sector underperformer" from "sector performer" spurred a decline of as much as 9 percent in the banks shares, sending it to its lowest level since May 2003, five months before Prince took over. Citigroup's decline sparked a major selloff in the overall stock market, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending down 362 points. Then, on Friday, Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Mayo said Citigroup faces about $4 billion in write-downs in the current quarter, mainly because of subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations. Mayo said Merrill Lynch faces an equal amount of writedowns and that other write-downs could occur at Bear Stearns , Morgan Stanley , Bank of America and Wachovia . Both analyst reports hammered financial stocks late in the week and kept the overall market from rallying despite a Fed rate cut and generally positive economic news. Asset Sales Possible Analysts said that with a $2.7 billion quarterly dividend to pay, equal to 54 cents per share, Citigroup might have to consider asset sales or limiting trading activity, reducing potential for profitability. On Oct. 15, Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden said Citigroup hoped to return to targeted capital levels early next year. He said the bank would suspend stock buybacks, and use stock to buy the remaining 32 percent of Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial for $4.6 billion. Not enough, Credit Suisse analyst Susan Roth Katzke wrote. "Expect more aggressive balance sheet rationalization in the months to come," Katzke said Thursday, as she downgraded Citigroup to "neutral" from "outperform." Not everyone thinks a dividend cut is needed. A cut would likely cause even deeper selling of Citigroup shares. Banc of America Securities analyst John McDonald said cutting the dividend would be "extreme," and that Citigroup could probably get by with shrinking its balance sheet. -- Wire services contributed to this report. © 2007 CNBC.com URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/21601044/ |