Vikram Pandit To Get The Heave-Ho?
We don't want to type it, let alone think it, but it's possible Vikula won't be around long enough to enjoy his new $10 million office (though, really, now that it's been stripped of a Zen Garden, is it really worth sticking around for? Probably not). The Financial Timesreports that senior officials at the FDIC have been talking Pandito replacements, in the event the bank needs more cash-money. Apparently successors include new CFO Ned Kelly, old CFO Gary Crittenden, and an unnamed new board member.
"It is unthinkable that Vikram could stay on if Citi requires more federal funds," said a person familiar with the matter. "It is prudent to be thinking about different scenarios."
The FDIC is only one of the regulators that has a say on whether Mr Pandit steps down if the government bails out Citi for the fourth time in six months following completion of a "stress test" of its health.
Any decision on Citi's leadership will be led by the Treasury, which is about to take a 36 per cent stake in the company and will sanction further capital injections.
The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulate national banks, will also have to bless top management changes.