Top government officials have trying hard to stick to their talking points on nationalization: We do not favor nationalization, nor are we planning for it. Fed chair Ben Bernanke told congressmen that nationalization "is when the government seizes the bank and zeros out its shareholders...we don't plan anything like that," according to the AP.

But what we're seeing is a creeping nationalization in which the government seizes progressively more control over operations and gradually encroaches on the value of investors' common stock holding. So at what point can we say Citi has been nationalized? Well, if the government ends up with 40 percent of the common shares, which will really be dilutive, I think we can all feel comfortable using that word. Perhaps with quotations around it?

For more:
- here's the AP article

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