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conclusions given to Citigroup Inc's (C.N) management team in a
government-mandated review in the aftermath of the financial crisis,
the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the
situation. The report said some FDIC officials were questioning
the rigor of the report, based partly on interviews of Citi's
executives who rated the effectiveness of their colleagues. The
FDIC did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment
that was sent outside regular US business hours. While the
findings still are being reviewed, the skeptical reaction could cause
the FDIC to give the report little weight during the next regulatory
assessment of the New York firm's management. Management skill is
one of the factors used by regulators to determine financial-health
ratings of US banks. Such ratings help determine whether banks will
be kept on an unusually tight regulatory leash. The review had
positive conclusions about Citi's top management but was less
favorable about two key members of Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's
team—Vice Chairman Lewis Kaden and Chief Administrative Officer Don
Callahan, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on
Wednesday. The FDIC required the bank to hire an outside firm to
perform its review and the board selected consultant Egon Zehnder
International. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has been a prominent
critic of Citigroup's business practices and governance. The
announcement last week that Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Chief
Executive Ken Lewis was on the way out heightened speculation that
Pandit could suffer the same fate.
