20th Century Bank Names Hedge Fund Giveaway For 16th Century Mathematician

Did you know the name of the guy who discovered the logarithm? Someone at Citigroup did, and he or she decided to rename its soon-to-be-given-away hedge fund unit after him.

Citigroup Inc., the third-biggest U.S. bank, renamed an internal hedge-fund unit Napier Park Global Capital as it spins out the business with about $6.8 billion in holdings under management….

The new name was inspired by the 16th-century Scottish mathematician and physicist, John Napier, known for his groundbreaking work on logarithms, Citigroup said.

Citi, of course, has to get rid of Citi Capital Advisors/Napier Park because Paul Volcker is a humorless, mean old bastard. And while some banks in similar positions have sold off their hedge funds or just closed them down entirely, Vikram Pandit (remember him?) came up with a different plan for his buddies at his favorite business unit just before he got his walking papers: He made it (75% of it, anyway) a gift; the employees getting a majority stake in it won't pay a dime for it.

Citigroup Names $6.8 Billion Fund-Unit Spinout Napier Park