Citigroup to nominate new board members: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is preparing to nominate some four new members to its board, including former U.S. Bancorp chief executive Jerry Grundhofer, as soon as next week, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The troubled bank may also name Michael O'Neill, former CEO of Bank of Hawaii Corp. and William Thompson, former co-head of Pimco, the paper said in story on its Website, citing people familiar with the matter.

Citigroup also is likely to add at least one other director with a background in risk-management, the Journal said.

Board members Kenneth Derr and Franklin Thomas are likely to step down because they have reached the board's retirement age of 72, the paper said.

Citigroup spokesman Stephen Cohen was not immediately available to comment late on Thursday.

Since October, New York-based Citigroup has received two federal bailouts, $45 billion of capital from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program, and a government agreement to cap losses on $300.8 billion of troubled assets.

Last month's bailout would make the government Citigroup's largest shareholder, with a potential 36 percent stake.

Federal officials have been pushing new Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons to oust some longtime directors and recruit new ones, the paper said.

Parsons in January -- just before he was named chairman -- indicated that the bank would make an effort to "reconstitute" its board.

Late in February, Parsons stated that Citigroup would "shortly" announce several new directors. At that time, he said the board had 15 directors, three of whom have said they would not stand for election at the April annual meeting, and two of whom will reach retirement age by the time of the meeting.

(Reporting by Franklin Paul; Editing by Bernard Orr)