Citibank parent Citigroup is understood to be under investigation by the financial regulator of the United States with regard to some potential breaches of securities law.
The issue revolves around the marketing and selling of what are called auction rate securities. These are a type of bond, most commonly used by municipal authorities when looking to generate funds and the question being looked into is whether the actual risks were understated by Citibank.
No comments have been forthcoming from Citibank so far regarding their discussions with the regulators. Instead they have a statement that says they have worked closely with all parties to make everything go smoothly.
The head economist from Lloyds TSB has commented on the unchanged base rate announced today, explaining that it was the need to keep a lid on inflation that led to the decision.
Although there is still a real threat of further economic slowdown the Bank of England could not afford to cut the base rate again since the underlying rate of inflation is higher than it should be. As the Lloyds TSB pointed out, a further base rate cut could fuel more rises in inflation, completely the opposite of what is needed.
He went on to say that, as far as Lloyds TSB can see there will need to be more indications that the economy really is in a slowdown mode before base rates can be considered for reduction again.
Citibank has revealed that it intends to reduce its portfolio having suffered at the hands of the sub prime lending difficulties in the USA.
Of all the financial institutions to suffer over the American mortgage problems Citibank felt the pain more than any other. The sub prime area of lending is one that they were heavily involved in. Due to this they are to sell around 20 percent of their assets over the next couple of years, worth around USD400 billion.
They have already announced the areas of business where the cuts will be made, namely consumer banking and securities banking. Citibank has stated it has an objective of generating revenue growth of 10 percent within 36 months, and these cuts are part of their plan. By freeing up resources they can focus more on the areas where growth can be achieved whilst reducing their exposure to potentially difficult markets.
