We've long maintained that banks are better off engaging their critics in the analysts and media ranks. The punitive route can easily backfire, something we witnessed in the battle between analyst Mike Mayo and Citigroup's top executives.

After two years of being frozen out, Mayo went public with the dispute in a big way. It's fair to say that Citi did not come out looking great.

In any case, the much-ballyhooed meeting between May and Citi CEO Vikram Pandit and CFO John Gerspach finally took place. Afterward, Mayo did not alter his underperform rating, but he did lift his earnings target to $4 from $3.50. In a report to clients, he noted progress is being made on bad assets and that the three core divisions give the bank unique "breadth and depth."

Mayo also told CNBC that he's not as negative on the banking giant as before but that execution concerns remain. Mayo said specifically he's "worried about the new management team, explaining that the financial institution has gone through new executives before without much success. Citi said they're proud of their managementreports," reports CNBC.

"The analyst continues his claim that their projects are unrealistic," CNBC notes. "Their target return on assets is too high at 125 basis points. He'd rather see it at 100 basis points."

We'll see if the carrot works any better in the long-term than the stick.

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