In case you missed it, Citigroup said late Monday it would sell a 4.9% stake of itself to the Abu Dhabi government.
The cost: $7.5 billion.
The deal was necessary to help the world's largest bank avoid a dividend cut or breakup thanks to a declining capital base and continuing questions about its exposure to the troubled U.S. mortgage sector.
Citigroup has already written down $6.8 billion because of the subprime mortgage crisis. This month, the world’s largest bank announced it may have to write down $11 billion more. We’re almost talking A-Rod money here.
If Citigroup can’t pay its own mortgage debts, we may soon see this piece of real estate in Flushing:
Comments
There's already a precedent...remember Enron Field in Houston?