Banking

Reaches Definitive Agreements with Private Preferred Shareholders

March 19, 2009 -- NEW YORK – Citi announced today it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with its proposed offer to issue its common stock in exchange for publicly held convertible and non-convertible preferred and trust preferred securities. Citi anticipates launching the public exchange offer in early April, subject to completion of the required SEC review process.    » read more »

First National Protests Since Bailouts Began Will Call on Congress to Take Action on Employee Free Choice, Health Care, Banking Reform to Build An Economy That Works for Everyone

March 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC- With almost daily revelations of abuses by Wall Street giants, some 10,000 Americans will participate in over 100 actions in over 30 states on Thursday, March 19 to push the solutions needed to rebuild the economy on sound, strong footing. The demonstrations will take place at the offices of major banks whose behavior both before and since the government bailout epitomize an era of CEO and corporate excess ¾ at the expense of broader prosperity ¾ that has weakened the economy.    » read more »

March 16th, 2009 -- This morning the President discussed a sharp contrast. On the one hand, he invited hard working small business owners to the East Wing of the White House to discuss ways the government could help them stay above water. He lightheartedly lavished praise on the sandwich made for him by Marco Lentini, the owner of a small food company, and commended Cynthia L. Blankenship, a community bank owner who has not only been responsible, but has helped keep credit flowing to other small businesses even as it dries up elsewhere.    » read more »

Emphasizes Recovery Efforts Already Taken by SBA to Expand Access to Capital for Small Businesses

March 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, as part of an effort Treasury Secretary Geithner first outlined in introducing the Financial Stability Plan (FSP) in February, President Obama and Secretary Geithner will announce plans to take immediate action to help ensure that credit gets flowing again to entrepreneurs and business owners.    » read more »

March 16, 2009 -- "The Obama Administration firmly believes that economic recovery will be driven in large part by America's small businesses, which have generated about 70 percent of net new jobs annually over the past decade. But as the flow of credit has dried up during this recession, small business owners who were prudent and responsible have been set back by the behavior of others in our financial system who were not.    » read more »

March 16, 2009 -- New York – Citi's Board of Directors today announced that it has nominated four new independent director candidates to be voted on at Citi's annual shareholder meeting on April 21, 2009. The candidates are Jerry A. Grundhofer, Michael E. O'Neill, Anthony M. Santomero Ph.D., and William S. Thompson, Jr.    » read more »

Alliance Pools Expertise, New Resources to 27 Highly Impacted Communities

CHICAGO, March 5 -- Ethnic communities hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis will receive much needed resources to help preserve homeownership thanks to a new national coalition announced today. The Alliance for Stabilizing our Communities - led by the National Urban League (NUL), the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) - was created, with the help of Bank of America, to assist multicultural homeowners facing foreclosure identify and procure the best housing solutions possible.    » read more »

March 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a letter to Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Lead Director O. Temple Sloan, the CtW Investment Group called on BAC's board to remove Ken Lewis as Chairman and CEO in light of his disastrous missteps. Since the September 15, 2008 announcement of the merger with Merrill Lynch, BAC has:

* Suffered a 90% drop in share price
* Allowed Merrill to pay out $3.6 billion in bonuses, even as the firm was hemorrhaging money
* Denied any active role in determining the size of Merrill bonuses, a claim subsequently contradicted by documents that have emerged in the NY Attorney General’s investigation
* Failed to timely disclose over $20 billion in pre-tax losses at Merrill    » read more »

Nation’s Top Mortgage Servicer Says Program Expands Solutions for Borrowers

March 4, 2009 -- CALABASAS, Calif. – Bank of America, the nation’s largest mortgage servicer, announced that it will participate in the Making Home Affordable Plan based on program guidelines released today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, extending new foreclosure prevention and refinancing options to eligible customers nationwide. While the company becomes operationally ready, Bank of America will extend its foreclosure sale moratorium for borrowers that potentially qualify for the program.    » read more »

With Detailed Program Requirements, Servicers Can Now Begin `Making Home Affordable' Loan Modifications; Extensive Borrower Outreach Efforts Underway

March 4, 2009 -- Washington, DC – The Obama Administration today announced new U.S. Department of the Treasury guidelines to enable servicers to begin modifications of eligible mortgages under the Administration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan – announced by President Barack Obama just two weeks ago.    » read more »

Transaction Does Not Involve Additional U.S. Government Investment

February 27, 2009 -- New York – Citi today announced it will issue common stock in exchange for preferred securities, which will substantially increase its tangible common equity (TCE) without any additional U.S. government investment. The transaction is intended to build Citi's TCE to a level that removes uncertainty and restores investor confidence in the company.

Citi will offer to exchange common stock for up to $27.5 billion of its existing preferred securities and trust preferred securities at a conversion price of $3.25 a share. The U.S. government will match this exchange up to a maximum of $25 billion face value of its preferred stock at the same conversion price.    » read more »

February 27, 2009 -- Citigroup is planning to strengthen its capital structure through conversion of a significant portion of its preferred securities to common equity in a series of exchange offers. Citigroup requested that the Treasury participate in this exchange offer by converting a portion of its preferred security to common equity alongside the other preferred holders.

Treasury is willing to participate in this arrangement to the extent Citigroup is able to reach agreement with its other preferred holders, under the following conditions:

* Treasury would convert its security to match dollar for dollar the private preferred exchanges.    » read more »

February 25th, 2009 -- It's clear that a lot of factors led us into this economic crisis, but one of the biggest was that our economy was left exposed by regulations that were out of date and regulators who weren't minding the store.

President Obama today took that problem head on by laying out 7 key principles for transforming the nation's regulatory system. We must:

1. Enforce strict oversight of financial institutions that pose systemic risks
2. Strengthen markets so they can withstand both system-wide stress and the failure of one or more large institutions
3. Encourage our financial system to be open and transparent, and to speak in plain language investors can understand    » read more »

February 25, 2009 -- Alongside the forward-looking economic assessments now being conducted by the Federal banking agencies, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the terms and conditions for the Capital Assistance Program (CAP). The CAP is a core element of the Administration's Financial Stability Plan.

The purpose of the CAP is to restore confidence throughout the financial system that the nation's largest banking institutions have a sufficient capital cushion against larger than expected future losses, should they occur due to a more severe economic environment, and to support lending to creditworthy borrowers.    » read more »

February 23, 2009 -- Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Reserve Board today issued the following joint statement:    » read more »