Odds-on favorite named Citigroup head

Citigroup today named Vikram Pandit, the head of its investment banking business, as its chief executive officer.

Citigroup Inc. of New York has selected Vikram Pandit as its chief executive officer, according to published reports.
Sir Winfried F.W. Bischoff, acting CEO, will be appointed chairman, stepping in for Robert E. Rubin, The New York Times reported.
A former Treasury secretary, Mr. Rubin stepped into the role when Charles O. Prince III left the firm on Nov. 4.
A search committee weighed outside candidates to for the CEO post: Among the candidates, there was Robert B. Willumstad, a former president of Citigroup; Michael A. Neal, head of General Electric Capital’s commercial finance group; and John A. Thain, who accepted the leadership role at Merrill Lynch upon realizing the Citi board would not make a decision quickly, sources told the Times.
Formerly the head of the firm’s investment banking business, Mr. Pandit will lead the clean-up efforts as Citigroup tries to recover from more than $17 billion in write-downs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Of that amount, $11 billion came from exposure to mortgage-related securities during the fourth quarter.
An additional $6.4 billion bite was taken out of the company in third-quarter write-downs, with $1.6 billion coming from mortgage losses.
The firm’s stock price has plummeted by nearly 40% this year.
The new posts were decided upon at a board meeting this afternoon, the Times said.