Citigroup Loses Another $7.6B

Did Citigroup pull out its lifeline too early? The troubled bank lost $7.6 billion in the fourth quarter, mostly on costs to exit the government’s bailout program. CEO Vikram Pandit had to book an $8 billion pretax charge when he rapid $20 billion of bailout funds in December; taxpayers still own 7.7 billion shares in the bank. Pandit’s failure to restore the bank to profitability in his second full year on the job may have some calling for his scalp. Pandit’s “honeymoon is over,” Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal—the man who raised his stake in the bank to 5 percent in November 2008--told Fox Business News last week.