Reply #29: For Citigroup, was it a good investment?

[hughee99]

Look, I'm not here to defend Citigroup as a whole, but was the purpose of these funds to prop up Citigroup, or as a stimulus for the American public? If the purpose was to help the general public, why not give it directly to the people and to hell with Citigroup. If the purpose was to help Citigroup become financially stable, then Citigroup should do something with the money that will make good business sense and put the company on better financial footing. If the investment is a solid loan to a company that's likely to pay it back and generate revenue, then isn't that what they're supposed to be doing with the money. Yes, it would be better if they could have loaned the money to an American firm, but at least they're looking at an investment that will make money. Would it be better if they invested in an American company that may go out of business soon and not repay the loan?

I can't even imagine how GS is going to try to justify $2 billion on repurchasing company stock.