I think we all belong since 9/11, no?
Different Citi that also owns you, America:
"Surprise profit at Citigroup boosts hopes; Bank posts best quarter since ’07" by Stevenson Jacobs and Stephen Bernard, Associated Press | April 20, 2010
I'm not surprised at all! How many billions did they declare?
NEW YORK — Citigroup Inc. provided more evidence yesterday that the nation’s big banks may have turned a corner. The bank reported a surprise first-quarter profit as trading revenue offset losses from failed loans.
Yeah, they are ALL PLAYING the "GAME," America.
Can I SCREAM IT ANY LOUDER?
The BANKS are RIPPING YOU OFF and MAKING MONEY OFF IT on the WAY UP and WAY DOWN -- and then getting a nice taxpayer-funded check to balance the books and be handed out as bonuses.
Meanwhile, you await the foreclosure notice.
Related: The Banks That Have Hearts
Hearts of gold, huh?
Citigroup said it earned $4.4 billion after payment of preferred dividends, compared with a loss of $696 million a year earlier. That was the bank’s biggest quarterly profit since the second quarter of 2007.
That is OBSCENE!!
Not only the amount, but the description as "earned."
So THAT is what the NEWSPAPER says STEALING is now, huh?
Sigh.
The company cited strong trading of bonds, stocks, and other securities for its big profit. Citigroup, one of the hardest hit banks during the credit crisis and recession, said losses from bad loans fell for the third consecutive quarter....
“Loan losses coming down with growth of top-line revenue speaks to the overall recovery,’’ said Oliver Pursche, executive vice president at Gary Goldberg Financial Services and co-portfolio manager of the GMG Defensive Beta Fund, which holds shares in Citigroup, but is not currently buying shares....
Citigroup’s strong showing follows similarly impressive results last week by Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. That has boosted hopes that the worst of the credit crisis has passed and banks may be entering a period of sustained profitability....
Oh, good; I was worried there for a second.
Do the newspaper reporters have a corporate logo signaling who owns them, because that was the most fawning sentence I have ever read.
So what do the bankers have to say for themselves; after all, they would never lie to anyone, would they?
"Citi much improved since crisis, CEO testifies" by Daniel Wagner, Associated Press | March 5, 2010
WASHINGTON - Facing sharp questions from bailout overseers, Citigroup’s chief executive said yesterday that the bank is “fundamentally different’’ than the tangled behemoth that took more than $45 billion in government aid during the recent financial crisis.
“I am pleased to say we are in a far different and much healthier position,’’ Vikram Pandit said in testimony before the Congressional Oversight Panel. The independent watchdog group oversees the $700 billion financial bailout....
Feel better now, America?
Assistant Treasury Secretary Herbert Allison said taxpayers would probably end up with a profit on the entire set of Citi rescues. Among them: a $20 billion infusion that has been repaid, and $25 billion that was converted into common stock and has since gained value.... They truly make me ill with the outrageous lies. The interest payments alone of what was borrowed and handed to these guys....
Oh, they paid it back, they paid it back.
So what?
WE NEVER WANTED the BORROWED (from same said banks) MONEY GOING THERE, and if they have "bounced back" SO FAST they NEVER REALLY NEEDED the AID (just tax money for them to balance their books, give out bonuses, and to play Trader Joe so they could boost profits)!!!
Allison described Treasury as a “passive investor’’ that is barely involved in overseeing Citi.
That is the government all over when it comes to corporations -- although he should have been more precise and used the word slaves, not investors.
His reticence led the panel’s chairwoman, Elizabeth Warren, to ask, “Are you saying today that no one in Treasury monitors the financial condition of Citi, and no one in Treasury is paying attention to the systemic risk that Citi poses?’’
“We do look at public information,’’ Allison replied.
Then WHY DO WE NEED YOU and YOUR DEPARTMENT at all?
We are ALWAYS the LAST TO KNOW THINGS out here if you are looking in a "newspaper."
Citi’s bailouts left Treasury owning 27 percent of Citi’s common stock. Taxpayers risked shouldering losses on a financial portfolio worth $301 billion.
And they have "paid back" how much "profit," American?
They really think you are stoo-pid, or the newspaper is talking to themselves (or both).
The bailouts put Citi in a small club of banks and other companies that required extraordinary assistance to weather the worst of the crisis. Warren said the great danger is that Citi will always enjoy government support in tough times because of its sheer size.
That is what the FINANCIAL REGULATION BILL the conniving political parties are working on will do. It will set up a permanent bailout fund within the regulatory framework you need desperately need, America -- at least, as told by the very same government and MSM interests that serve banks.
Do you like the s*** fooleys to get another bill you oppose through Congress, with them all shrugging their shoulders later saying "It got through somehow, we dunno?"!
“The United States government will bear any burden and pay any price to ensure Citigroup does not fail,’’ she said.
I think she inverted those phrases from the original speech.
Pandit faced his harshest criticism came from Damon Silvers, policy director for the AFL-CIO federation of labor unions. He said he found it difficult to believe Pandit had no memory of conversations between Citi and Treasury officials at the peak of the financial crisis. Pandit would not discuss those conversations. Panelists had to ask the question several times before Pandit even acknowledged that they took place.
But he's telling the truth and not hiding anything and Citi's doing great now so what's the problem?
--more--"
Going to be GOOD TIMES for a WHILE in the CITI!
"Citigroup sees ‘sustained profitability’" by Associated Press | March 12, 2010
NEW YORK — Citigroup is poised to return to “sustained profitability’’ as it sheds risky assets and focuses on emerging markets, chief executive Vikram Pandit said yesterday....
Who are they shedding them to, taxpayers?
Pandit did not give a timetable, but he said Citigroup, the hardest hit US bank during the financial crisis, sees big opportunities in emerging markets, including Latin America and Asia, which generated about half of Citigroup’s 2009 revenue.
But NOT HERE, 'eh, Amurkns?!!
But you are in recovery and growing at 3% or more, blah, blah, blah.
“We are well positioned to return to sustained profitability,’’ Pandit told investors at a conference.
In 2009, Citigroup lost $1.61 billion....
It lost $27.68 billion in 2008.
And I'll bet the executives were all well-paid.
Pandit said the bank will focus on client businesses in three core areas of its Citicorp division: investment banking, consumer banking, and transaction services like credit cards. Citigroup split itself into two last year, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, the division holding riskier noncore assets. Pandit said the bank would continue selling off Citi Holdings, which had $547 billion worth of assets at the end of 2009.
Some analysts have expressed concern over how the bank will perform once it cuts ties with the government.
Must be valid concern if the newspapers takes only a sentence to describe "some" critics.
Citigroup got $45 billion in bailout money. It raised $20 billion to help repay the money. The remaining $25 billion was converted to stock last fall, giving the government what is now a 27 percent stake.
Oh, WE OWN SOME OF THEM?
Where is my quarterly dividend check, gummint?
--more--"
What do you mean it went to pay the fine?
"Citigroup unit to pay $1.25m penalty" by Associated Press | March 25, 2010
WASHINGTON — The consumer lending arm of Citigroup Inc. will pay $1.25 million for failing to report to federal regulators on more than 90,000 mortgage loans it made.
But they came clean on testimony, sigh.
CitiFinancial agreed to the penalty in a settlement with 35 state mortgage regulators disclosed yesterday by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators. The agreement followed an examination by the Massachusetts Division of Banks on CitiFinancial’s compliance with state and federal consumer laws. That examination found the bank had failed to report 91,127 residential mortgage loans originated between 2004 and 2007. The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requires all mortgages be reported. These reports are used to ensure compliance with fair lending laws and regulations. The failure to report the loans was caused by an internal error that arose after systems adjustments made following changes to the law in 2004, Citi said.
In a statement, Citi said the error was unintentional, and no customers were harmed.
Citigroup shares rose 2 cents to $4.15.Gotta keep what is important in mind, readers.
Forget the lying and the looting!
--more--"
But you are making out on the deal, or some claims the AmeriKan MSM and the Traesury department.
"US seen reaping billions in sale of Citigroup stake; But other bailouts may end up in red" by Stevenson Jacobs, Associated Press | March 30, 2010
Translation: The GOVERNMENT is going to LIE about how much you have been TAKEN FOR, America.
Take my word for it, when you add it all up in is in the TENS of TRILLIONS of DOLLARS!!!
NEW YORK — Bank bailouts are turning out to be great business for the government. Unfortunately for taxpayers, other federal rescues will almost certainly wind up in the red.
I thought taxpayers and citizens were the government?
Sigh. Damn "newspaper."
The Treasury Department said yesterday it will begin selling its stake in Citigroup Inc. at a potential profit of about $7.5 billion — not a bad haul for an 18-month investment.
I can't stand the deceptive, distorting, and insulting "journalism" any more.
They must have internalized the elite values, because this kind of "reporting" sucks.
The move is a major step in the government’s effort to unravel investments it made in banks under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program at the height of the financial crisis. Yet a year and a half after Congress passed the big bailout, other parts of it — particularly troubled automakers General Motors and Chrysler, and insurer American International Group — show no signs of being profitable.
Yeah, but don't headline and feature that, BG.
Despite
Another one of THOSE WORDS that should NOT be appearing in a report -- or so my college writing instructor told me.
That is ONE THING I DID REMEMBER from those school daze.
the returns from Citi and other banks, analysts and even the Treasury predict the bailout will wind up costing taxpayers at least $100 billion.
That is ONE HELL of a PROFIT and NO DOUBT a LOW-BALL LIE!!!!
The bailouts of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were not included in TARP, will add billions more.
Try TRILLIONS -- OFF the BOOKS, of course!!!!
"Fannie, Freddie to buy back loans" by Associated Press | February 11, 2010
WASHINGTON - The government-controlled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they will buy back troubled loans contained in securities they have already sold to investors.
Related:
“They’ve cleared the decks to use Fannie and Freddie as a vessel for whatever they want.... taking troubled mortgage investments off banks’ books.’’And how much is that going to cost, readers?
"Obama’s budget seeks tax hikes on firms, rich; $1.1 trillion more sought in a decade" by Globe Wire Services | February 2, 2010
--more--"
Are you ever getting a POUNDING in the old POOPER, America!
This is WAY WORSE than any PRIEST from 40 YEARS AGO, isn't it?
Besides, WE ARE ALL GETTING IT no matter what your faith (always exempting one chosen religion, of course).
But the money the government makes off banks helps offset the damage.
Sigh.
Happy this morning with the blatant obfuscation and outright omissions, dear readers?
With the sale of the Citi shares, the eight major banks that got bailout funds will have repaid the government in full.
So we are told.
Takes the angry heat of 'em -- or so the power structure thinks.
The extent of self-delusion by some people.... sigh.
Those investments have netted the government $15.4 billion from dividends, interest, and the sale of bank stock warrants, which gave the government the right to buy stock in the future at a fixed price.
Notice how NOW it is GOVERNMENT'S MONEY, according to the agenda-pushing AmeriKan MSM, not yours, American?
Based on yesterday’s share price, selling its 27 percent stake in Citi would add about $7.5 billion in profits. The stock fell 3 percent to $4.18 a share after news of the planned Treasury sales.
Then DUMP 'EM ALL QUICK!!!
You MAY NOT BE PROFITING AFTER ALL, American!
But
Need I even type it anymore, sigh?
that still
A two-fer in three-words or less!
puts it well above the $3.25 a share the government paid.
Then sell, Wilson, sell!!!!
The government also still holds Citi stock warrants, which will add to its profits down the road.
Yup, GOVERNMENT is PROFITING from the BAILOUT, yup?
This from the same media and government that has been lying to us all along? Yeah?
Pffft!
Overall, it’s a 14 percent rate of return on the $165 billion invested in the biggest banks. Hundreds of smaller banks also received money and have been paying the government a steady stream of dividends and interest. By comparison, someone who invested money in the Standard & Poor’s stock index in early October 2008, when the bailout was passed, would actually have lost about 3 percent.
Yup, it's all been a WIN-WIN for EVERYONE!!
“Overall, TARP may cost taxpayers money. But the banking part of it is going to be a moneymaker,’’ banking analyst Bert Ely said.
This is not only insulting, it is sickening.
F***ing looting liars didn't learn a f***ing thing!!!!!!!!!!
The government’s bank profits can be misleading.
Excuse me while I go sob after the sighing, readers.
F***ing God-damn "newspaper!"
The banks benefited heavily from other subsidies, including the $182 billion bailout of AIG.
Yeah, AIG was the CONDUIT to SPREAD the LOOT AROUND!!!!
Tens of billions of that money went to banks that had losses with AIG, and the banks didn’t have to repay a penny.
But YOU are MAKING OUT on the DEAL, taxpayers -- or so screams the deceptive headline and tone of this boot-licking PoS.
“It’s baloney to say we’ve made money off the bank bailouts,’’ said Simon Johnson, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “You have to add up all the money we’ve put into the economy and other firms’’ related to banks.
I call it something else that begins with a B.
Douglas Elliott, a fellow at Brookings Institution and former investment banker at J.P. Morgan, predicted the government will lose about $100 billion on the overall bailout program.
So is that the number they think the public will look at and say, "Aww, that's not so bad. Loot me a little more?"
They are not only looting liars, but ALSO INSANE!
--more--"
And you gotta love this "TREAT" from the Boston Globe.
"Former superstar at Citigroup challenged on role in meltdown
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-- Your friends at Boston.com --"Yeah, your "friends."
Related: Former Citi executives offer contrasting takes on meltdown (By Eric Dash and Sewell Chan, New York Times)
I'm sorry, readers; I no longer read New York Times articles if my printed paper does not carry it, and I never visit their website.
This is it, folks. My lone exposure to the AmeriKan MSM -- New England's largest daily.
And after the Google search:
"Rubin is challenged on his role in Citi mortgage crisis: by Marcy Gordon, Associated Press | April 9, 2010
WASHINGTON - Robert Rubin, the former financial superstar once lionized for his global crisis-fighting, was scolded Thursday over the mortgage-securities disaster at Citigroup Inc. when he was a top executive there.
His claim that he did not know of the risks piling up drew a sharp rebuke.
"You can't have it both ways: You either were pulling the levers or asleep at the switch," the head of the panel investigating the causes of the 2007-08 financial crisis told Rubin at a hearing.
Rubin expressed regret, but he insisted he did not know until late in the game about the $43 billion in high-risk, or subprime, mortgage securities on Citigroup's books....
A th...., a th.... a th.... "That's All Folks," folks?
And NOWHERE on the WEB do I FIND THIS:
The public scolding marked another chapter in his fall from grace. Until the financial crisis struck with force in 2008, he enjoyed renown as one of the most influential figures in global finance. After leading Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs & Co., Rubin served as Treasury secretary in the Clinton Administration. In the late 1990s he worked with Alan Greenspan, then the Federal Reserve chairman, and Larry Summers, then Rubin's deputy, to contain financial crises in Russia, Asia, and Latin America. "The Committee to Save the World" Time Magazine dubbed the trio....
The rank elitism makes you want to puke, doesn't it?
Didn't do a very good job, did they?
And tell me Goldman doesn't run this whole f***ing thing, go ahead.
--more--"
Also see: Citigroup Tightens Its Grip Over U.S. Banking System
Thanks, Bob.
