Citi The bank’s emerging markets business has excelled despite the tough conditions and Citi’s own troubles.

The region’s importance could mean more banking officials relocating there.

Redecard, a merchant servicing business in Brazil that Citi holds a majority stake in, plans to undertake a follow-on secondary offering. The announcement came within hours of Citi announcing write-downs of $18.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Charles Prince, he of Citi fame, will be forced to move back into his Park Avenue apartment after putting his Greenwich, Connecticut, mansion up for sale.

Vikram Pandit faces one of the toughest challenges ever seen in the banking industry.

Citi is proof of the adage: “You can’t be all things to all men.” A mole confided: “I’m all for breaking it up.” In my first column, published in April 2006, I queried the strategy and investment validity of Citigroup. Eighteen months later, I’m still asking the same questions.

Those looking to harm Ms Whitney may want to think twice.

The US bank recovered from a similar crisis in the early 1990s. But this time around it lacks strong leadership.

Chuck Prince's former CEO-ship at Citi was marked by high hopes and heavy losses. The Citi he inherited had been built to tower over the the rest of the global financial services industry, but it did so only briefly before seriously testing the limits of manageability.

Citi announced on October 2 that it would acquire the remaining shares in broker Nikko Cordial that it does not already own to make the company a wholly owned subsidiary. The move marks the first usage by a foreign firm of the new triangular merger legislation, which allows firms to use their shares rather than cash to make acquisitions and which has been available since May after a ban on the practice was rescinded.

After the crash, here comes CASH

Citi has joined its emerging markets credit and global credit trading businesses. Carey Lathrop is the new head of the group, replacing Jim Higgins and Dave Pichler, who are leaving the bank. Lathrop has been at Citi since 1988 and was head of the investment-grade syndicate until 2003 when he took over emerging markets credit trading.

Quinenco, the largest shareholder in Banco de Chile, and Citi have agreed a partnership in which Citi will have the rights to acquire up to 50% of the holding company that controls Banco de Chile.

Head of prime brokerage Hannah Goodwin talks about expansion of the bank’s services to Singapore.

Citigroup CEO Charles Prince said in March that he hoped that the vacant position of head of the group’s alternatives business (CAI) would be filled within weeks. It’s about time.

The final outcome of a much-rumoured rebranding exercise was not much of a surprise.

Citi has unveiled the management structure of its recently created fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) business unit.

Citi has carved out a non-mortgage-related ABS business line called global securitized products.

The shift in the balance of power in Citi’s debt group duplicates a trend seen in some other US investment banks.

Summary table of top banks, with quick links to more related content on euromoney.com

It could be that the bank is simply too large, and only disposals can change the culture. But the recent changes are, to date at least, a missed opportunity.

The US bank has finally got what it wanted – but it remains to be seen what happens now with GDB.

If the reorganization is properly managed, they will be able finally to catch up in areas such as commodities.

The US institution has taken a lead in adapting to client demand for new services.

The US institution has an unrivalled combined strength in retail and investment banking.

Despite growing competition, Citigroup remains at the forefront of cash management, with impressive take-up of its TreasuryVision programme.

Citigroup’s global head of fixed-income capital markets, Marwan Marshi, left the bank last month to pursue other interests. Marshi, who worked at Citigroup for 20 years, was previously co-head of credit markets alongside Chad Leat until last year when Leat was promoted and gained control of credit trading as well as credit origination and products. Citigroup is not appointing a replacement in Marshi’s role, which had become increasingly redundant. The regional heads of origination that reported to Marshi now simply report to Leat.

While rivals’ share prices roar ahead, Citigroup’s languishes. Investors love stocks that are easy to understand. So is it time for Citi to develop a clearer strategy?

Abigail Hofman

It takes just one statistic to indicate what a force Citigroup is in Asia. The franchise (including Japan) is the 40th biggest financial institution in the world on a net income basis. Even excluding Japan, Citigroup does business in 16 countries in the region.