Bountiful_Harvest
3 months ago
"A Former Exec at Citibank Raises Alarm Bells in Federal Court Over Failed Risk
Controls Inside the Bank"
From the
@WigdorLaw
federal lawsuit filed by former Citigroup Managing Director Kathleen Martin:
"...in late 2021, Citi hired Martin, a data governance expert who has worked with some of the top financial institutions, to help Citi revamp its data processes and avoid further legal jeopardy. Citi hired the right person.
According to the Bank’s internal documents, Martin was an “exemplary” performer who “exceed[ed] expectations.” Even Jane Fraser, Citi’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), gushed over Martin’s work, stating that she had received “terrific feedback” about Martin, and praising Martin’s “gravitas” and her ability to build “strong relationships” at the Bank.
That all changed when Martin protested Citi’s attempts to file false information with the regulators. Specifically, Martin’s supervisor and Citi’s Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) Selva wanted Martin to hide from the OCC critical information about the Bank’s data governance metrics because, according to Selva, the information would make the Bank “look bad.”
Selva also urged Martin to falsely tell the regulators that Citi had achieved particular goals when, in fact, it had not. The more Martin pushed back against this unlawful activity, the worse things got. Ultimately, the Bank fired Martin in retaliation for her protected complaints....
Context from Wall Street on Parade:
....If the Kathleen Martin lawsuit has a familiar ring to it, that’s because something quite similar happened in the same courthouse in 2021.
A former compliance attorney at JPMorgan Chase, Shaquala Williams, alleged in a lawsuit that she was fired in retaliation for reporting wrongdoing at the bank.
That case was also related to alleged attempts to make regulators think the bank was complying with regulatory orders when it was all a sham.
Williams charged in her lawsuit that JPMorgan Chase was keeping two sets of books and effectively making a monkey out of the U.S. Department of Justice by brazenly flouting the non-prosecution agreement it had signed with the Justice Department in a previous case.
In 2016 the Justice Department had charged that JPMorgan’s Asia subsidiary engaged in quid pro quo agreements with Chinese officials to obtain investment-banking business and had falsified internal documents to cover up the activities.
The quid pro quo agreements involved the bank putting the children of high-ranking Chinese government officials on its payroll in order to enhance its business interests in China. In exchange for avoiding prosecution by receiving a non-prosecution agreement, the Justice Department required the bank to put in place compliance controls around third-party payments.
Williams alleges, among other serious charges, that the so-called third-party payment controls were a sham and that when she blew the whistle to her superiors at the bank, JPMorgan Chase retaliated against her by firing her in October 2019...."
The lawsuit:
https://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Kathleen-Martin-v-Citibank.pdf
Wall Street on Parade:
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/06/a-former-exec-at-citibank-raises-alarm-bells-in-federal-court-over-failed-risk-controls-inside-the-bank/
tw0122
10 months ago
Sanford (Sandy) Weill, the Man Who Walked Away from Citigroup a Billionaire Before Its Collapse
At the exact moment that the stock market closed on Monday, Reuters dropped a bombshell in Warren Buffett’s lap with news that federal banking regulators are breathing down Citigroup’s neck. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns 55,244,797 shares of Citigroup, according to its last 13F filing with the SEC. The bulk of the stake was acquired in the first quarter of 2022. (See our report: Warren Buffett Is Taking a Flyer on $3 Billion of Citigroup’s Stock — After It Loses 40 Percent in a Year.)
While a $3 billion stock holding is chump change for Berkshire (as of its last 13F filing, it owned approximately $33 billion in Bank of America stock), Buffett has a stock-picking reputation to defend and neither the history of Citigroup nor its troubles today are boosting that reputation.
On Monday, with the strike of the closing bell, Reuters reported the following:
“U.S. regulators have asked Citigroup for urgent changes to the way it measures default risk of its trading partners and the bank’s own auditors have found a plan to improve internal oversight to be lacking, developments that could hinder CEO Jane Fraser’s plans to revive the bank’s fortunes.
“Late last year, the Federal Reserve sent Citi three notices directing the bank to address in the coming months how it measures risk of default by counterparties in derivative transactions, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.”
To fully grasp the hubris at Citigroup, a few key historic details are in order.
First, Citigroup’s Citibank turned money laundering into an art form, or perhaps a concierge service, with its own “relationship managers.”
Second, Citigroup received the largest bailout in global banking history before, during and after the financial crash of 2008 – a crash it played a pivotal role in causing with its subprime debt bombs and off-balance-sheet Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs). Between December 2007 and July 2010, Citigroup received the following bailouts: The U.S. Treasury injected $45 billion of capital into Citigroup; there was a government guarantee of over $300 billion on certain of its assets; the FDIC provided a guarantee of $5.75 billion on its senior unsecured debt and $26 billion on its commercial paper and interbank deposits; and secret revolving loans from the Federal Reserve sluiced a cumulative $2.5 trillion in below-market-rate loans to Citigroup according to an audit released by the Government Accountability Office in 2011.
Third, despite the unprecedented infusions of capital, guarantees and secret loans from the Fed, Citigroup’s share price sank to 99 cents in the spring of 2009. In a clever maneuver to dress up its share price and remove the beaten-down appearance of a single digit stock, effective May 9, 2011, Citigroup did a 1-for-10 reverse stock split, meaning if you had 100 shares of Citigroup previously, you were left with just 10 shares; but those shares now had a double-digit price that looked far more respectable to the uninformed.
The shocking truth is that if you owned Citigroup’s stock on January 1, 2008 – the year of the worst financial crash since the Great Depression – and you maintained your position in the stock all these years, you are still down 76 percent on the share price. (See chart above.)
Another key detail in Citigroup’s history is that despite taking its shareholders on a very nasty journey for the last 16 years, its former Chairman and CEO, Sandy Weill, was able to walk away as a billionaire as a result of his so-called “Dracula” stock options.
Weill’s riches grew out of what corporate compensation expert Graef “Bud” Crystal labeled the Count Dracula stock option plan – you simply could not kill it; not even with a silver bullet. Nor could you prosecute it because Citigroup’s Board of Directors approved it.
Weill’s stock option plan worked like this: every time he exercised one set of stock options, he got a reload of approximately the same amount of options, regardless of how many frauds the bank had been charged with during the year.
In an article at Bloomberg News, Crystal explained that between 1988 and 2002, Weill “received 96 different option grants” on an aggregate of $3 billion of stock. Crystal says “It’s a wonder that Weill had time to run the business, what with all his option grants and exercises. In the years 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000, Weill exercised, and then received new option grants, a total of, respectively, 14, 20, 13 and 19 times.”
When Weill stepped down as CEO in 2003, he had amassed over $1 billion in compensation, the bulk of it coming from his reloading stock options. (Weill remained as Chairman of Citigroup until 2006.) With a bird’s eye view of Citigroup’s internal problems, Weill decided real estate looked like a better risk than Citigroup stock. Just one day after stepping down as CEO, Citigroup’s Board of Directors allowed Weill to sell back to the corporation 5.6 million shares of his stock for $264 million. This eliminated Weill’s risk that his big share sale would drive down his own share prices as he was selling. The Board negotiated the price at $47.14 for Weill’s shares.
The $264 million that Weill got for his Citigroup shares in 2003 were worth $29.5 million at yesterday’s closing price, adjusted for the reverse stock split: a very sweet deal for Weill and a very raw deal for long-term shareholders.
Now, back to the Reuters’ story about Citigroup’s current troubles with its regulators. Despite the bank’s inability to resuscitate its share price, Citigroup held $51 trillion in derivatives as of September 30, 2023, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. (For how Citigroup could have blown itself up with derivatives and off-balance-sheet vehicles in 2008 and still be allowed to live so recklessly today, see our report: Meet Your Newest Legislator: Citigroup.)
Regulators are now apparently questioning Citigroup’s calculations on how much capital it should be holding based on the credit quality of the counterparties to that $51 trillion in derivatives.
Federal banking regulators have good reason to question that. The giant insurer AIG had to be taken over by the U.S. government in 2008 and backstopped with more than $180 billion when it turned out that one of its divisions had been a major derivatives counterparty to a multitude of Wall Street banks – but AIG had neglected to put aside reserves to pay up on those derivatives.
When the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission wrote its final report for Congress, mapping out the major causes of the Wall Street financial collapse in 2008, it devoted an entire chapter to AIG. One exhibit stands out. It was an email sent on the evening of September 12, 2008 – three days before Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy. It came from Hayley Boesky of the New York Fed and was directed to William Dudley, an Executive Vice President at the New York Fed at the time who oversaw its trading operations. Dudley would become President of the New York Fed on January 27, 2009 when its then President, Tim Geithner, was tapped by President Obama for Treasury Secretary. The email read:
“More panic from [hedge funds]. Now focus is on AIG. I am hearing worse than LEH [Lehman Brothers]. Every bank and dealer has exposure to them.”
On the same day that Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Monday, September 15, 2008, the rating agencies brought down the hammer on AIG. The ratings downgrades were even worse than anticipated. AIG’s share price collapsed in one trading session by 61 percent to $4.76. By Wednesday of the same week, AIG’s stock traded at an intraday low of $1.99.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report notes that AIG’s “previous eight years’ profits of $66 billion would be dwarfed by the $99.3 billion loss for this one year, 2008.”
After much public uproar, a chart would eventually be released showing that more than $90 billion of government bailout funds earmarked for AIG went to pay off its derivatives and stock lending agreements with the big trading houses on Wall Street. (See the chart here.)
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission summed up its analysis of what went wrong at AIG as follows:
“The Commission concludes AIG failed and was rescued by the government primarily because its enormous sales of credit default swaps [derivatives] were made without putting up initial collateral, setting aside capital reserves, or hedging its exposure — a profound failure in corporate governance, particularly its risk management practices. AIG’s failure was possible because of the sweeping deregulation of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, including credit default swaps, which effectively eliminated federal and state regulation of these products, including capital and margin requirements that would have lessened the likelihood of AIG’s failure. The OTC derivatives market’s lack of transparency and of effective price discovery exacerbated the collateral disputes of AIG and Goldman Sachs and similar disputes between other derivatives counterparties. AIG engaged in regulatory arbitrage by setting up a major business in this unregulated product, locating much of the business in London, and selecting a weak federal regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)…
“AIG was so interconnected with many large commercial banks, investment banks, and other financial institutions through counterparty credit relationships on credit default swaps and other activities such as securities lending that its potential failure created systemic risk. The government concluded AIG was too big to fail and committed more than $180 billion to its rescue. Without the bailout, AIG’s default and collapse could have brought down its counterparties, causing cascading losses and collapses throughout the financial system.”
If you think it is nothing short of dereliction of duty that federal banking regulators have allowed Citigroup to hold $51 trillion in derivatives given its history, please contact your U.S. Senators today via the U.S. Capitol switchboard by dialing (202) 224-3121. Tell your Senators to demand that regulators rein in this out-of-control derivatives market and its concentrated risk at a handful of mega banks on Wall Street.
Related Article:
Is Citigroup Under Orders from Its Regulators to Break Itself Up?
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: February 14, 2024 ~
DiscoverGold
11 months ago
Citigroup (C) Stock 'Buy' Signal Has Never Been Wrong
By: Schaeffer's Investment Research | January 24, 2024
• Tailwinds could soon blow for not only Citigroup stock, but the entire finance sector
• C's combination of cheap options and recent highs has been a bullish signal in the past
Bank stock Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) is up 4% in 2024, but has cooled off since scraping a nearly two-year high of $54.74 on Jan. 4. Thanks to a 1% post-earnings pop on Jan. 12, C is on the move again and could make another run at multi-year highs, if past is precedent.
Citigroup stock's recent highs come amid historically low implied volatility (IV), which has been a bullish combination in the past. Per Schaeffer's Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, there were three other signals over the past five years when C was trading within 2% of its 52-week high, while its Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) stood in the 20th percentile of its annual range or lower.
This is the case with the stock's current SVI of 23%, which stands in the low 11th percentile of annual readings. Per White's data, the shares were higher one month later all three times after the signal, averaging a 5.1% pop. From its current perch at $53.39, a move of similar magnitude would place the stock above $56 for the first time since March 2022.
Keep an eye out for a shift in sentiment among brokerages. Of the 21 covering the bank stock, 14 maintain "hold" or "strong sell" ratings. With the bank sector buzzing as business activity picks up and potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve loom, now may be the time to purchase calls on C.
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DiscoverGold
DiscoverGold
12 months ago
These Stocks Are Looking Good As We Move Into 2024
By: Tom Bowley | December 30, 2023
Throughout 2024, I'll be commenting on various sectors, industry groups, and individual stocks that flash breakouts and relative strength, but what about stocks that are just beginning to strengthen? There are many individual stocks that set 52-week and all-time highs as we ended 2023, but these are two that struggled in 2023 and now appear to be headed for a much stronger year:
Citigroup, Inc. (C):
C broke a similar downtrend during Q4 2023, after trending lower with most banks. Inverted yield curves historically impact banks the strongest as they squeeze banks' net interest margins, which is a key driver in bank earnings. The stock market looks ahead, however, and I believe the expectation of multiple rate cuts in the fed funds rate is helping to drive current outperformance of banks. It's quite likely to continue in 2024. On the C chart, you can see the reversal in its downtrend rather clearly:
In addition to the more favorable price chart, C also boasts a strong 4.04% dividend yield, providing another solid income option for that style of investor. Any additional capital appreciation would be icing on the cake.
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DiscoverGold
1 year ago
Citigroup reorganization to be completed in first quarter, cost $1 billion
By: Investing | December 6, 2023
(Reuters) -Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said on Wednesday the bank's largest reorganization in decades will cost about $1 billion for charges related to restructuring.
The overhaul is expected to be fully completed by the end of the first quarter next year, Mason told the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference. The changes include slimming down management and potentially laying off thousands of employees.
Simplifying the bank's structure will enable it to reduce annual expenses to $51 billion to $53 billion, he added, helping Citi to approach its profit targets.
The bank maintained its estimate for 2023 expenses at $54 billion, excluding a special assessment from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. of about $1.65 billion.
Some of the restructuring charges of about $200 million will probably be booked in the fourth quarter, according to Mason.
The bank aims to reach a medium-term return on average tangible common shareholders equity of 11% to 12% in the medium term after the reorganization. ROTCE is a measure of company performance.
Citi's full-year revenue in 2023 will probably come in at about $78 billion, the lower end of its previous forecast, Mason said.
Mason cited Argentina as a factor reducing Citi's revenue.
"The Argentina elections for example, that is going to put pressure on revenue for a couple of hundred million dollars," he said. "Thinking about the currency impact, that's the cost of us doing business there."
REORGANIZATION
Citi announced the latest phase of its sweeping reorganization last month, trimming leadership and moving executives within divisions. The bank is reducing management layers from 13 to eight as part of its biggest overhaul in decades.
CEO Jane Fraser aims to reduce bureaucracy and increase profits while boosting the company's stock, which lags its peers. "We need to change how we run Citi in order to truly transform it once and for all," Fraser told analysts on a third quarter earnings call in October.
The third-largest U.S. bank by assets beat estimates for third quarter profits, driven by rising trading revenue, investment banking fees and interest payments.
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DiscoverGold
DiscoverGold
1 year ago
Citigroup restructuring plan aims for 10% staff reduction
By: Investing | November 6, 2023
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser's restructuring initiative, known as "Project Bora Bora," is under scrutiny as it anticipates job cuts of at least 10% across various principal divisions. The announcement has caused a surge of concern among employees. The final count of layoffs, which could see executives facing cuts beyond the projected 10%, especially those in roles with overlapping responsibilities and operations staff supporting divested or reorganized businesses, will be settled in the upcoming weeks.
The bank has been grappling to match its competitors since Fraser took over in early 2021. Citigroup's price-to-tangible book value ratio stands at 0.49, considerably lower than market leaders like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM). Analysts from Edward Jones and Wells Fargo have both stressed the importance of a substantial workforce reduction from its current 240,000 employees. This step is seen as crucial for Fraser to enhance the bank's performance and achieve her target of elevating Citigroup's returns to at least 11%.
Titi Cole, Citigroup's head of legacy franchises, is spearheading the restructuring alongside Boston Consulting Group. Despite its peaceful codename, "Project Bora Bora" has created significant stress among employees. Banking consultant Pierre Buhler has pointed out that investors will need to see a decrease in expenses before gaining confidence in the plan's effectiveness.
Fraser revealed this significant restructuring plan during a hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building. Positions such as chiefs of staff and chief administrative officers are also at high risk of cuts. The plan and its financial impact are expected to be updated in January along with the announcement of fourth-quarter earnings.
InvestingPro Insights
Citigroup, a prominent player in the banking industry, has seen a significant return over the last week, as per InvestingPro data. The market cap stands at 80.88B USD, with a revenue of 72.55B USD as of Q3 2023. The company's adjusted P/E ratio is at 6.58, showing that it is trading at a low earnings multiple.
InvestingPro Tips suggest that the bank's revenue growth has been accelerating, and six analysts have revised their earnings upwards for the upcoming period. This could be a sign of potential growth despite the ongoing restructuring. On the other hand, the bank has been quickly burning through cash and suffers from weak gross profit margins, which might be some of the reasons behind the restructuring initiative.
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DiscoverGold
DiscoverGold
1 year ago
Citigroup profit beats estimates as investment banking fees jumps
By: Investing | October 13, 2023
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Citigroup's profit was broadly steady and beat third-quarter estimates as it benefited from rising interest payments and surging investment banking fees, sending its shares up 3% in premarket trading on Friday.
The bank said its reorganization plan will result in a 15% reduction in functional roles and that the first phase of the plan eliminated 60 net committees.
Citi's net income rose 2% to $3.5 billion from a year ago, while earnings per share remained stable at $1.63. On an adjusted basis, it earned $1.52 to beat LSEG estimate of $1.21.
"We announced consequential changes that align our organizational structure with our strategy and changes how we run the bank," CEO Jane Fraser said in a statement.
"When completed, we will have a simpler firm that can operate faster, better serve our clients and unlock value."
Revenue at Citi's institutional clients group that houses its Wall Street operations rose 12% from a year ago, fueled by a 34% jump in investment banking fees. The gains were a bright spot after several quarters of depressed dealmaking.
The bank's trading unit also boosted revenue, while its division providing treasury and securities services to corporations brought in 12% more revenue.
Revenue from fixed income trading grew 14% to $3.6 billion, which more than offset a 3% drop in equities trading revenue.
Citi's overall revenue climbed 9% to $20.1 billion.
The third largest U.S. lender set aside more money to cover potential bad loans, even though delinquency levels were still low compared to historical levels.
Citi's total provision for the credit portfolio rose to $17.6 billion from $16.3 billion a year ago.
At the same time, lenders have benefited from the Federal Reserve's campaign to quell inflation, which has increased borrowing costs and helped banks earn more from customer interest payments.
Revenue for the personal banking and wealth management division jumped 10% to $6.8 billion. Deposits at the end of the third quarter came in at $1.3 trillion, down 3% from a year ago as customers moved to high-yielding assets.
Fraser announced a sweeping reorganization last month that will disband ICG and give her more direct oversight over the company's businesses. The new structure is not yet reflected in the third-quarter results.
Expenses rose 6% to $13.5 billion due to rising costs and investments in control systems. The expenses included severance payments for employees who were laid off during the sale of its international businesses.
Citi has not yet announced the expected headcount reduction and savings with the reorganization that will reduce management layers and prompt layoffs across its businesses. Fraser has said there was "no room for bystanders" as the bank embarked on its biggest overhaul in almost two decades. The changes are being rolled out at a time of economic uncertainty that has weighed on some of Citi's key businesses like trading.
Rivals Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) also reported higher quarterly profit on Friday, boosted by a rise interest payments.
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