Weekend drama leads to Prince's resignation

In the end, there was no way Charles Prince could survive as Citigroup CEO. Many wonder how he lasted so long. The fate of Stanley O'Neal, in an odd way, focused attention on why the Citigroup board kept giving his passes. But the prospect of more writedowns made him untenable as a top executive. All this sets the stage for a really interesting situation. Two top financial firms now are in need of CEOs. There are many reasons why top candidates would want to sit out the 4Q before making a decision. Why not let all the fallout occur before entering the suite. Vikram Pandit and Gary Crittenden are perhaps too new to be considered front-runners, but some insiders are pulling for Pandit. Others generating mentions include Stephen Volk, formerly of Credit Suisse First Boston, John Thain, of the NYSE, and Richard Parsons. Robert Rubin will act as interim chairman. He is also seen as a candidate.

For more:
- here's the New York Times wrap up
- here's an article on Pandit from the New York Post
- here's the official press release

Related articles:
- Pandit ready for Citigroup challenge
- Executive shake-up at Citigroup
- Questions about Citigroup's Prince linger long