Citigroup Stock Description

Citigroup Building

Citigroup stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "C." The stock was once a component in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but was replaced by Travelers Cos. in June 2009 after losing nearly 90 percent of its value, according to Bloomberg.

History

Citigroup was formed in 1998 as a result of a merger between insurance giant Travelers Cos. and Citicorp. The companies were the first to combine insurance and investment banking services, but Citigroup's stock performance was lackluster and the merger did not last.

U.S. Government

In 2008 and 2009, Citigroup received a total of $45 billion in government aid, giving the U.S. Treasury Department partial ownership in the company. The government raised its ownership stake to 36 percent in February 2009.

Leadership

Chuck Prince became chief executive officer of Citigroup in 2003. Prince was ousted as chief executive in 2007 after the bank suffered from billions of dollars in losses amid bad mortgage loans, and the stock lost more than 30 percent of its value.

Stock Swap

In June 2009, Citigroup converted $58 billion of its preferred stock into common stock to bolster capital reserves, according to USA Today. The U.S. government agreed to convert a portion of its ownership stake into common shares, which is what boosted its stake in the company.

Primerica

Citigroup separated its financial services subsidiary, Primerica, in November 2009 with plans to spin the unit off into an initial public offering on the stock market. Insurance giant Travelers, which replaced Citigroup in the Dow Jones, is a former Citigroup business.

References

• Citigroup and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
• Citigroup Stock Swap

Resources

• Citigroup and Primerica
• NY Times Overview on Citigroup