Citigroup shakes up top management
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup (C.N) on Thursday announced its biggest management shake-up since the financial crisis began, replacing its chief financial officer and installing a new banking chief as it prepares to give the government a 34 percent equity stake.
The revolving door that Citigroup's upper management has become spun again amid intense pressure on Chief Executive Vikram Pandit to improve performance, add consumer banking experience in the senior ranks, and shed toxic or unwanted assets at the third-largest U.S. bank by assets.
"It has been a long time coming," said Christopher Whalen, a managing director at Institutional Risk Analytics in Torrance, California, referring to the management shuffle. "The government controls the bank."
Edward "Ned" Kelly, who became CFO in March and is a former CEO of Maryland's Mercantile Bankshares Corp, was promoted to vice chairman focussed on strategy and merger activity.
The new CFO is John Gerspach, the bank's controller and chief accounting officer. Gerspach is the fifth CFO in five years.
Eugene McQuade was named chief executive of Citigroup's Citibank unit. He was previously vice chairman of Merrill Lynch, chief operating officer of mortgage financier Freddie Mac (FRE.P) and president of Bank of America (BAC.N).
McQuade succeeds William Rhodes, a senior vice chairman who will reduce his day-to-day responsibilities to focus on international operations, his specialty. Citigroup is based in New York but operates in more than 100 countries.
Separately, Gary Crittenden, chairman of Citi Holdings, which includes businesses that Citigroup wants to sell or wind down, will leave the bank and move to Utah to focus on family and business interests. He preceded Kelly as CFO.
None of the executives was available for comment.
UNCLE SAM'S FINGERPRINTS
Several analysts called the management changes encouraging, though it is unclear what they signify about Pandit's job status and the government's role in running the bank.
Citigroup has lost $36 billion (22.2 billion pounds) over six quarters and received a series of federal bailouts. Regulators knew of the management changes in advance, according to a person familiar with the matter who lacked authority to speak publicly.
"They've weathered the maelstrom so far" because of the government help, said Malcolm Polley, chief investment officer of Stewart Capital Partners LP. "Uncle Sam is going to put their fingerprints all over this thing."
Citigroup has taken $45 billion of federal bailout money and is widely considered the least healthy major U.S. bank.
The changes "further help in positioning our company for the future," Pandit said in an internal memo. He said the bank is making "consistent and substantial progress" in shrinking Citi Holdings and bolstering Citicorp, which includes retail and investment banking and other units the bank wants to keep.
Citigroup announced the changes less than a month after Ajay Banga, head of Asia-Pacific region operations and one of its top consumer bankers, decamped for MasterCard (MA.N).
"In Citigroup's 2006 annual report there was a picture of its 43 most senior executives," Barclays Capital analyst Jason Goldberg wrote on Thursday. "Only 17 remain."
Citigroup shares were up 3 cents to $2.65 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
SURVIVAL PROSPECTS
The bank expects to report second-quarter results on July 17, and soon after complete a stock swap that converts much of the government's investment into the 34 percent stake.
Analysts on average expect Citigroup to lose money over the rest of 2009, according to Reuters Estimates.
Michael Mullaney, who helps invest $9 billion at Fiduciary Trust Corp in Boston, said the management shake-up "enhances Pandit's ability to survive, especially if McQuade's experience at Freddie Mac results in more political clout."
He added, "McQuade is also a traditional consumer banking executive, which will help Citigroup focus on core businesses and get away from the shopping mall approach Citigroup had."
Jeff Harte, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill & Partners in Chicago, called Kelly's move unsurprising, saying "Ned would be more interested in strategic decisions and (the) overall running of Citigroup, as opposed to being a number-cruncher."
That label perhaps better fits Crittenden, who has also been CFO at American Express Co (AXP.N). Keith Davis, an analyst at Farr, Miller & Washington in Washington, D.C., said Crittenden might be a candidate to run a western U.S. bank.
Pandit became Citigroup CEO in December 2007. While many people at the bank blame predecessor Charles Prince for many of Citigroup's problems, Pandit has been faulted for addressing them too slowly, and for lacking consumer banking experience.
"I am still waiting for them to find someone for the CEO slot who has actually run a bank," Whalen said.
(Reporting by Elinor Comlay, Steve Eder, Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Chuck Mikolajczak, Ellis Mnyandu, Sweta Singh, Jonathan Stempel and Lilla Zuill; editing by John Wallace)
