Citigroup Inc

For the first time since the housing crisis began, a major mortgage lender agreed Thursday that courts should be allowed to order reductions in the principal of "underwater" loans for some troubled borrowers, cracking what had been fierce and unified industry opposition. The agreement struck between congressional Democrats and Citigroup Inc. would permit bankruptcy judges to change the terms of mortgages as part of court-ordered debt restructuring.

Would you feel comfortable if your company sold off your pension plan to a big bank? This month, Citigroup Inc. got the green light from the Federal Reserve for an unusual deal to take over the $400-million retirement plan of a British newspaper company. In exchange for getting its hands on all that cash, Citigroup will run the pension plan -- investing the money, paying the benefits and taking on the liability previously borne by Thomson Regional Newspapers.

The 2,800 residents of this pristine village isolated on a narrow finger of the gleaming Sognefjord are embarrassed, angry and eager to get their money back. So are the townspeople of Bremanger, Hattfjelldal and Hemnes, not to mention those of Kvinesdal, Narvik and Rana. The seven small communities, lodged deep in a timeless Norwegian landscape of fiords and snow-clad mountains, somehow got caught up in the go-go markets of big, distant cities such as London and New York. At the time, it seemed like an easy way for the towns to get rich.

Ameriquest Mortgage Co., once the "Proud Sponsor of the American Dream," is closing. Citigroup Inc. said Friday that it would buy the remnants of the Ameriquest empire from ACC Capital Holdings in Orange, and ACC said it was "preparing for an orderly wind-down of its retail mortgage business." Ameriquest shuttered its 229 retail offices months ago. As recently as 2005, Ameriquest and its sister company, Argent Mortgage, were together the No. 1 sub-prime mortgage lender in the world.

Victor Menezes, Citigroup Inc.'s former head of emerging markets, may face a federal insider-trading lawsuit over a $29.8-million stock sale 18 days before the world's largest bank announced a $2.2-billion loss in Argentina. NASD, formerly known as the National Assn. of Securities Dealers, released documents last week saying Menezes, 55, had received in August a formal warning from the Securities and Exchange Commission about a possible suit. Menezes didn't respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Securities regulators have ordered a division of Citigroup Inc. to pay a $275,000 fine plus restitution, alleging that it recommended high-risk commodity futures funds to people who shouldn't have invested in them and failed to fully disclose the risks. The NASD (formerly the National Assn. of Securities Dealers), the brokerage industry's self-policing organization, announced the settlement with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. on Tuesday.

Citigroup Inc. on Tuesday promised to cut monthly mortgage payments temporarily to $500 for some homeowners who have been fired or laid off -- a test program bank officials say could become a model for other banks if it proves successful. The borrowers otherwise would face foreclosure because their lack of income makes it impossible to restructure their loans with more affordable payments.

The Federal Reserve voted unanimously Monday to approve Citigroup Inc.'s takeover of California Federal Bank parent Golden State Bancorp, but said it would continue to review the banking giant's much-criticized sub-prime lending operations. The deal will convert about 350 CalFed offices across California and Nevada to Citibank branches, creating the third-largest commercial banking company in both states, with 5.8% of California's deposits and 11.4% of Nevada's.

It was a devastating attack ad. Over footage of a dying bird covered in oil and rivers burning in chemical fires, actress Susan Sarandon states: "Thousands are standing against Citigroup, the world's largest financer of environmental destruction." It is preceded by Sarandon and fellow actors Daryl Hannah and Ed Asner reading the names of Citibank credit card holders, and then cutting the cards in half.

Citigroup will acquire Mexico's second-largest banking group for $12.5 billion, the companies said Thursday, in a dramatic step toward the financial integration of North America. The largest takeover in Mexican history further consolidates Mexico's banking system, which is recovering after the chaos of a mid-1990s banking crisis that forced a $100-billion bailout. The new bank will retain the powerful Banamex brand of Mexican group Banamex-Accival, or Banacci for short.

The 2,800 residents of this pristine village isolated on a narrow finger of the gleaming Sognefjord are embarrassed, angry and eager to get their money back. So are the townspeople of Bremanger, Hattfjelldal and Hemnes, not to mention those of Kvinesdal, Narvik and Rana. The seven small communities, lodged deep in a timeless Norwegian landscape of fiords and snow-clad mountains, somehow got caught up in the go-go markets of big, distant cities such as London and New York. At the time, it seemed like an easy way for the towns to get rich.

It wasn't pretty, but Citigroup Inc. finally got back into the black in the first quarter. The beleaguered banking giant reported Friday that it earned $1.6 billion in the first three months of 2009, its first profit since late 2007. Citigroup benefited from a trend that also helped Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the quarter: a surge in bond issuance and trading, as investors hungered for fixed-income securities. The bond bonanza generated $5.

Citigroup Inc. on Tuesday promised to cut monthly mortgage payments temporarily to $500 for some homeowners who have been fired or laid off -- a test program bank officials say could become a model for other banks if it proves successful. The borrowers otherwise would face foreclosure because their lack of income makes it impossible to restructure their loans with more affordable payments.

Two of the country's biggest banks spilled billions of dollars in fresh red ink Friday, prompting further erosion of stock prices in the financial sector. Bank of America Corp. reported a $2.6-billion quarterly loss, marking its first loss in 18 years. The company also practically eliminated its dividend, as required by the latest federal aid package announced Thursday night by the government that includes a new $20-billion capital infusion. Citigroup Inc. posted an $8.

Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury secretary who advised Citigroup Inc. as it lost $20 billion in the subprime mortgage crisis, resigned his position as senior counselor and won't stand for reelection to the board. Rubin, 70, intends to "deepen his involvement in outside activities and organizations to which he has been strongly committed," the New York-based bank said Friday in a statement.

For the first time since the housing crisis began, a major mortgage lender agreed Thursday that courts should be allowed to order reductions in the principal of "underwater" loans for some troubled borrowers, cracking what had been fierce and unified industry opposition. The agreement struck between congressional Democrats and Citigroup Inc. would permit bankruptcy judges to change the terms of mortgages as part of court-ordered debt restructuring.

The federal government rushed to the aid of faltering banking giant Citigroup Inc. late Sunday night, agreeing to invest $20 billion more and accept the lion's share of losses on more than $300 billion worth of the firm's troubled mortgage-backed assets. In the largest single rescue effort thus far in the current financial crisis, the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Many things that Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson has said about the credit crunch and financial markets have come back to haunt him. Now many investors appear to expect a U.S. rescue of Citigroup Inc. -- just one week after Paulson sought to assure the American people that the banking system has "been stabilized." Citigroup shares dived $1.69, or 26.4%, to $4.

Citigroup Inc. today plans to announce a six-month program to reach out to 500,000 high-risk mortgage customers who are current on their payments but someday may require loan modifications to stay in their homes. The New York bank said it would focus on areas with high unemployment and where housing prices have fallen sharply, including California, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

Citigroup Inc., suffering its fourth straight quarterly loss and forfeiting the title of largest U.S. bank by assets, is falling behind in the historic reshuffling of the U.S. banking system. New York-based Citigroup said Thursday that it lost $2.8 billion, or 60 cents a share, in the third quarter, contrasted with a profit of $2.2 billion, or 44 cents, a year earlier. The deficit for the July-to-September period brings Citigroup's total losses over the last 12 months to $20.2 billion.