Who knew Embattled Citigroup Bank's biggest shareholder is Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

[KoKo]

November 3, 2007
Citigroup Chief Is Set to Exit Amid Billions in Losses
By ERIC DASH and LANDON THOMAS Jr.

The embattled head of Citigroup, the global banking giant, has told directors that he would resign from the bank after an emergency meeting this weekend in the wake of a $5.9 billion write-down and sharp drop in profit, people briefed on the situation said last night.

Charles O. Prince III, 57, the chairman and chief executive, took responsibility for the bank’s disappointing results and said it would be better for the bank if he left, these people said.

At the meeting on Sunday, directors are expected to formally accept his resignation and discuss the possibility of another write-off, just weeks after announcing large losses related to subprime mortgages and the credit market turmoil. Mr. Prince did not return calls yesterday for comment.

A search committee will begin looking for Mr. Prince’s successor immediately, according to a person briefed on the situation. “The entire organization is in uproar, and people have been looking for leadership,” said one Citigroup executive close to the situation. “The organization is waiting for something.”

“At some point, the company is worse off or better off without the guy,” this person said. “That collective point has come and passed.”

Mr. Prince’s exit will end a tumultuous four-year reign at the bank, where he won over the board with an aggressive growth strategy but failed to convince Wall Street investors and many of his own employees. It will also set off a new round of calls to dismantle Citigroup’s sprawling empire.

News of Mr. Prince’s plans to resign were first reported on The Wall Street Journal online.

-snip-

Mr. Prince would become the second chief executive to lose his job in the wake of the subprime mortgage problems. Earlier this week, the chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch, E. Stanley O’Neal, was forced to retire after the brokerage firm reported an $8.4 billion write-down, the largest in its history, and an unauthorized overture to merge with rival Wachovia, that angered board members.

Though Mr. Prince had been under pressure for months, he had a similarly swift downfall. In early October Citigroup announced a $5.9 billion write-down that led to a 57 percent drop in third quarter profit. The poor performance and the size of the losses renewed speculation that Mr. Prince would run into trouble.

But Citigroup’s biggest shareholder, the Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and two of its most influential directors quickly offered their support. “Now is not the time to be saying, ‘Do we change course, or do we change captains?’ ” said Richard D. Parsons, Time Warner’s chairman and chief executive who heads the Citigroup’s personnel and compensation committees.

Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury secretary and chairman of the bank’s executive committee, suggested that Mr. Prince would “be the C.E.O. at the annual meeting five years from now, and as long past that as he wants to be.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/business/03bank.html?pagewanted=print

[Kagemusha]

1. I'd forgotten but, what's your point here?

Yes, not all rich people are Americans. Is this news?

[Elspeth]

2. What he seems to be suggesting is that

global corps have truly GLOBAL interests. They don't give a crap, even nominally, about what is good for Americans.

[Kagemusha]

3. ...It's a bank.

Why would anyone expect a bank to "give a crap about what is good for Americans"? As opposed to what's good for the bank, which I thought was, by law, the priority of the CEO?

[KoKo]

12. It's a GLOBAL BANK which provides Other Stufff....run by folks who seem 'clueless.' n/t

[earth mom]

4. Connecting the dots here...

Prince Bandar said that Saudi intelligence was 'actively following' most of the 9/11 plotters 'with precision.'"

Saudi Arabia could have helped the United States prevent al Qaeda's 2001 attacks on New York and Washington if American officials had consulted Saudi authorities in a "credible" way, the kingdom's former ambassador said in a documentary aired Thursday.

The comments by Prince Bandar bin Sultan are similar to the remarks this week by Saudi King Abdullah that suggested Britain could have prevented the July 2005 train bombings in London if it had heeded warnings from Riyadh.

Speaking to the Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya on Thursday, Bandar -- now Abdullah's national security adviser -- said Saudi intelligence was "actively following" most of the September 11, 2001, plotters "with precision." ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2192834



Sounds like payback time-somebody is pissed off.

[HelenWheels]

7. Bandar and Bush

Bandar is a huge friend of the Bush family and has been for many years. Why didn't Bandar tip off Bush as to the 9/11 plan to bring down the towers. Is CitiCorps' Charles Prince related to the Blackwater Prince?

[KoKo]

13. I would think..Saudi's are 'GETTING NERVOUS' about their Investments in US given

that "THEIR AMERICA UNDER their BUSHIE ALLIES..sort of seems to be impolding under the Corruption.

Let's hope that for the 'rest of us' their strategy works...because if the GREAT MINDS STRATEGY doesn't pan out and the LOSSES exceed the depositors..then WE ARE ALL UP SHIT'S CREEK! ;-(

[ProSense]

5. Here:

BCCI, Iran Contra relevance: UAE, Saudi, Pakistan, money and Bush family

[hlthe2b]

6. Please tell me this Charles PRINCE has no relation to

Eric PRINCE of Blackwater infamy... Anyone?

[KoKo]

8. Doesn't seem to have connection...from Wiki;

History

Charles O. Prince III, was born in Lynwood, California on January 13, 1950.<1> Prince went to the University of Southern California for his Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, and Juris Doctor.<1> He continued his education going on to receive a Master of Law degree from Georgetown University.<1>

He started his career as an attorney with U.S. Steel Corp in 1975.<1> In 1979, he joined Commercial Credit Company, a predecessor to Citigroup that Sandy Weill took over in 1986.<1><4> He was promoted in 1996 to Executive Vice President of the firm, which by this point was known as the Travelers Group, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup.<5> In 2000, shortly following the 1998 merger of Travelers and Citigroup, Prince was named Chief Administrative Officer of the newly created firm, Citigroup.<6><5> He was subsequently promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2001, to CEO and Chairman of Citi Markets and Banking in 2002, and finally to CEO and Chairman.<5>

Personal life

Prince is currently married to Margaret L. Wolff.<7> The couple was wed on September 20, 2003 at The Pierre Hotel in New York City.<7> Semi-retired Judge Robert W. Sweet presided over the ceremonies.<7>

Affiliations

Prince currently serves in the influential trade group the Financial Services Forum, as well as a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, the Business Roundtable, and several other organizations.<2> Along with his directorship on the Citigroup board, Princep has served as a member of Johnson & Johnson's board since February 13, 2006.<8> He also serves as a trustee for several education institutions including Weill Medical College, Teachers College, and The Juilliard School.<8>

[hlthe2b]

11. My tinfoil was constricting.... thanks.

[CK_John]

9. The whole world, Citigroup is a public traded corp, anyone with > 5% must be filed with SEC. n/t

[KoKo]

14. huh? Could you "flesh out your post' ...i don't understand what you say? n/t

[antigop]

10. FYI -- according to this link,Barclays holds over 16% of Citigroup shares

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=CIT

Wow!

[KoKo]

15. What's the significance of Barclay's owning over 16%....

:shrug;

[antigop]

17. Just that Barclay's has quite an investment -- what is Barclay's financial picture?

A couple of links...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/09/23/cnbarc123.xml

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/09/23/cnbarc123.xml

[KoKo]

23. Many thanks and New DU'ers would enjoy those links..........

if they are DIGGING!

[Mike03]

16. Wow, it's not that common to have an inside executive

make such scathing comments about a CEO or President, even if he/she is on the way out.

Make no mistake: major shareholders do have a lot to say about what happens within a company. The more stock they own, the more say they have. The fact that this person is Saudi is probably irrelevant; the more interesting thing to know would be if he has been offloading his stock prior to the release of the bad news.

[WinkyDink]

18. Charles O. Prince, a Saudi prince, Erik Prince, WTH is with all these "princes"?!

[KoKo]

20. LOL's...it does boggle the mind...although that CitiBank Prince seems not to have

any relationship to the others. But it does seem 'very funny' that a 'Prince' name would surface once again in the 'Times we live in.' :shrug: Weird...Coincidental...???

[Mike03]

19. Why Foreign Entities Own More and More of our Nation

It's not just Saudi Arabia, but China, India, Japan, the UK.

This is what happens when you become the largest debtor nation in the world, and your currency is turning into shit.

What are these countries supposed to do with the enormous cache of U.S. dollars they hold? Naturally, they buy pieces of America. They invest or acquire corporations outright.

This is what happens when a nation goes into debt. We are bankrupt, folks. We have gone from being the world's greatest creditor to the world's most pathetic debtor. This is why it is necessary to sell off so much of our country.

[KoKo]

21. Agree..and WHEN are we going to have "National Discussion " about this?

When do our Sovereign Rights and American Worker's Interest collide with GLOBALISM? And when should we REVOLT AGAINST THIS?

WHERE ARE THE SAFEGUARDS? :shrug: WHO will be RESPONSIBLE for protecting AMERICA's INTERESTS?

[DemReadingDU]

26. What about my meager savings in dollars?

I'm just average American, worked hard, put my savings in a money market account. House is paid for, kids are grown, watch my pennies. But what is going to happen to my dollars? I don't have enough to buy gold, it's $800 oz! I can't easily exchange my dollars for Euros; besides, I need dollars to buy groceries. And it's costing more dollars every week to buy those groceries. But when the dollar becomes worthless, then what happens? What is going to happen to all of us average Americans?

[elehhhhna]

22. Why'dja think it's called Saudicorp?

[KoKo]

24. I always feel the Saudi's are MASTERS at playing: "Both Sides Against Middle"

and that they would throw out their loyalty to the Bushies on the drop of a dime!

Maybe, I"m mistaken but they are an incredible crowd...so aligned with BUSHPOWER...but so protective of their OWN.... :shrug; Would the word "Prostitutes and Whores" come to mind with the Saudi's? Maybe bin Laden interests and "Power Playing" throughout the centuries for their TRIBE?

[ruggerson]

25. Umm, pretty much the entire planet

it's not like it was a secret, to the contrary, it's been very well publicized for years. When he first bought his stake it was front page news.

[Democrats_win]

27. Bedfellows: The worlds greatest crooks and the worlds greatest terrorists.

The Saudi's have been spreading terrorism for decades and we all know about how CITI corp has defrauded millions with not only the Worldcom investments but their practice of usury in the credit card industry.