Citigroup watches peers soar

October 31, 2008 | By Jim Kim

You have to wonder what Citi CEO Vikram Pandit has up his sleeve. I mean he has to have something in mind. Right? He can't just sit back and watch the likes of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and even Wells Fargo zoom past it. Sadly, that may be exactly what happens. Pandit's tenure may well be defined by his inability to push the bank to a new plane in the credit crunch.

We'll long recall how Wells Fargo snatched Wachovia away from Citi with a bravado move that left it reeling. Unfortunately, the once-largest bank still has a lot of clean-up to do. The TARP funds allow it to pad its capital cushion a bit--solvency isn't an issue--but there will be more write-downs to come. In any case, clean up isn't a strategy. Will we see some big acquisitions? Some massive asset sales? Is it too late to renew talks of a break up? The world awaits.

For more:
- here's some background from Financial Week