Pandit: Citi undergoing "long-term transformation"

Pandit: Citi undergoing "long-term transformation"
By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer Madlen Read, Ap Business Writer

NEW YORK – Citigroup's CEO Vikram Pandit said Wednesday that the company is going through a "long-term transformation," a day after the embattled bank sold control of its Smith Barney brokerage to Morgan Stanley.
Speculation has been growing that Pandit, who for months supported the model of Citigroup as a "universal bank," will be taking further steps to dismantle the conglomerate.
"While we are embarked on a long-term transformation of Citi, our core mission is unchanged," Pandit wrote in a memo to employees obtained by The Associated Press.
"Our goal is to streamline our operations, strengthen our balance sheet, position ourselves to take advantage of historic global growth opportunities, and deliver to clients all the benefits of our strength, insight, and unique global reach."
Analysts are expecting more details about which businesses Citigroup plans to jettison when the company releases fourth-quarter results on Friday — nearly a week earlier than originally planned.
Citigroup shares fell $1.37, or 23 percent, to $4.53 on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup agreed to merge their retail brokerages. Morgan Stanley is paying Citigroup $2.7 billion for a 51 percent stake in the joint venture. Citigroup will have a 49 percent stake. The new unit — Morgan Stanley Smith Barney — will have more than 20,000 advisers, $1.7 trillion in client assets; and serve 6.8 million households around the world, the companies said.
Citigroup will recognize a pretax gain of about $9.5 billion because of the deal.

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