Citi C-suite execs looking over their shoulders

If media reports are to be believed, no one’s job is safe in the executive suite at Citigroup Inc.

If media reports are to be believed, no one’s job is safe in the executive suite at Citigroup Inc.
In the past 24 hours, it has been reported that chief executive Vikram Pandit and chairman Winfried F. W. Bischoff are in jeopardy of losing their jobs as the financial services giant faces fourth-quarter losses expected to be billions of dollars greater than previously anticipated.
Following reports in The Wall Street Journal that Mr. Pandit may be on the ropes, Richard Parsons, former chief executive of New York-based Time Warner Inc. and a current board member at Citigroup, told the newspaper he has “confidence in the current management and leadership of Vikram,” adding that “there’s no truth” to rumors that Mr. Pandit’s job is in jeopardy barely a year after he took over the beleaguered company.
“It is unusual for a member of the board of directors to provide company news to the marketplace,” said Tim Welsh, president of Larkspur, Calif.-based Nexus Strategy LLC.
“With changes in the marketplace and unprecedented levels of government involvement, it should be no surprise that these executives are struggling to find an answer,” he added.
Meanwhile, The New York Times and the Journal reported that Mr. Parsons is expected to be named Citigroup’s chairman this month, replacing Mr. Bischoff.
The latter’s potential ouster could occur as early as this week, the Times reported.
On Friday, CNBC television reported that the company was in “advanced talks” with Morgan Stanley of New York, with plans to combine their brokerage businesses.
Also on Friday, Robert Rubin, a former Treasury secretary, retired as Citigroup’s former senior counselor after nearly 10 years at the company.
In another personnel move today, Charlie Berman, one of Citi’s most senior European fixed-income bankers, resigned seven months after he was moved into the company’s investment-banking division.
In November, Citi announced that it was shedding 53,000 of its employees as part of an effort to get the company on solid financial footing.
A call to New York-based Citigroup for comment was not immediately returned.