Citigroup Board Said to Oust Pandit After Setbacks
By Donal Griffin and Bradley Keoun – Oct 16, 2012 5:08 PM ET
Citigroup Inc. (C) directors ousted Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit after concluding his mismanagement of operations caused setbacks with regulators and cost credibility with investors, a person with knowledge of the discussions said.
Episodes that led the board to replace Pandit with Michael Corbat included the rejection by regulators in March of a plan to boost shareholder payouts, said the person, who requested anonymity because board deliberations are private. Citigroup’s $2.9 billion writedown on the Smith Barney brokerage unit and a two-level cut of its credit rating by Moody’s Investors Service also contributed, the person said.
Directors had discussed whether to replace Pandit for months, even before the appointment of Michael E. O’Neill as chairman in April, the person said. O’Neill, a board member since 2009, and other directors became increasingly frustrated with Pandit’s performance, and Corbat told the bank’s 262,000 employees today that a shakeup may follow.
