Citigroup Said to Commit $10 Million for New Executive Suite

[deminks]

Source: Bloomberg

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. plans to spend about $10 million on new offices for Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit and his lieutenants, after the U.S. government injected $45 billion of cash into the bank.

Affidavits filed with New York’s Department of Buildings show Citigroup expects to pay at least $3.2 million for basic construction such as wall removal, plumbing and fire safety. By the time architect’s fees and expenses such as furniture are added, the tally for the offices at the bank’s Park Avenue headquarters will be at least three times as high, according to a person familiar with the project who declined to be identified because he’s not authorized to comment. Citigroup said the project will help it save money over time.

Pandit, criticized by lawmakers over Citigroup’s use of U.S. bailout capital, canceled an order for a company jet in January and told Congress on Feb. 11 that, “I get the new reality and I’ll make sure Citi gets it as well.” Of the biggest U.S. banks that received federal aid, only Citigroup has turned to the government three times for rescue. The company, once the biggest U.S. bank by assets and market value, has agreed to limit perks and restrict executive pay.

“In this environment, it absolutely sends the wrong message,” said Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, referring to the office renovations. “Timing in life is everything.”

Citigroup said in a statement that the construction is part of a global space-saving initiative.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adLGVE_YzvUU

---

Rearranging the deck chairs?

Where are the indictments? Where are the regulations? We just have to take this over and over and over and over...?

[dkf]

1. Still clueless.

Sigh.

[wilt the stilt]

2. how about cubes

that would save space

[Amonester]

16. surrounded by vertical bars, and a locker

it's getting more and more trendy in design (alright, i'm a dreamer... but i'm not the only one)

[CatholicEdHead]

3. How about no new suite

Let him have last year's decorations or just give him a general window office on a middle floor with the rest of the day to day workforce.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. Robber Barons

[havocmom]

8. EXACTLY

Call them what they are and let the curious grab a history book off the shelf. Might help

[Javaman]

5. meh, as if anything would really change. pul-eeeeze. nt

[NV Whino]

6. Hey, hey, hey...

look at all the construction work it is creating. You know, removing walls and such.

[barbtries]

7. such BULLshit!

gawd, they make me want to :puke:

[babylonsister]

9. Global space-saving initiative?!

Oy! That took some thought.

[Kablooie]

10. Stupid move. If they just put it on hold until things begin to turn around, it'd be OK.

When will these jackasses realize they've got to just lay low for now.
Put everything on hold except for what's essential to get the bank working again.

They all seem to be blind idiots.

[tyrant888]

11. Why not? It's not like it's THEIR money they are spending.

[1776Forever]

12. Could there have been restrictions on costs over 1 Mil having to go through a committee?

I don't know how they do it on Wall Street but the companies I worked for have a board you have to go through to do this kind of massive spending.

This was just in the news:

Today's Outrage: Citigroup Stiffs Stockholders

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10474606/1/todays-outrage-citigroup-stiffs-stockholders.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN

It's not your fault, mind you. You've been played by Citi. And no one is calling them on it -- the SEC and the NYSE are playing along, in fact.

You've been had.

Citigroup is playing fast and loose with its shares and stockholders get no say in the matter.

It's all spelled out in the bank's press release today stating that it plans to dilute the holdings of common stock holders by converting preferred shares into common shares, and then it will conduct a reverse stock split to reduce the total number of outstanding common shares.

.............The article goes on to say: ""Shareholder approval to increase Citi`s authorized shares is not necessary."

[Gin]

13. can't they all sell their stock and leave citi high and dry? There has

to be some recourse...I swear...I have never felt so "had" in my life....even when Bush was in office. ( I know I am naive)

[Mz Pip]

14. Clean out the

janitor's closet or set up a desk in the stairwell.

Good grief, do you really need a $10 million dollar office to wreck a company?

[ChromeFoundry]

15. Umm...

"I get the new reality..."

How's about having him live under a bridge for a week... then he might really understand this 'new reality' the rest of us face every day.

[yy4me]

17. Another one ! Holy Mackerel, is there an honest, business savvy

company left that is not corrupted somehow. I am not trying to paint everyone with the same brush but the ones we hear about, these titans of business are the targets of my ire.

Ten million, this is disgusting. As soon as I pay of the balance of my credit card with them, out come the scissors---after the call to them to explain why.

I's switch in a minute but I am still paying off a smallish balance that was left when my husband died and now that I am unemployed, I doubt I can get a card even with my small local bank. A Social Security check does not impress anyone as a source of income. If I still had my job, with SS income, I might be able to pay it off.

What a mess we are in, and not of our own doing.

[mikelgb]

18. Hope that suite has BARS

[Vinca]

19. How can these people be so clueless?

It must be a different world when $10 million is apparently regarded as chump change.

[TheWatcher]

35. Please see my Post above.

They are NOT Clueless, and the furthest thing from it.

But they think YOU are.

And they are counting on you buying the lie of "Incompetence", and "Irresponsible Management".

These People are GANGSTERS. Plain and simple.

[DireStrike]

20. Oh dammit! I saw "Citi", "Executive" and "commit" and got my hopes up.

Sigh.

[kaygore]

21. Man Oh man--they just don't get it

This is why I was against the bailouts. These guys make all the profit and the people get to eat the loss.

They need to be tried and put in jail.

We need to adopt the French revolution here. Off with their heads--in this case, cut the heads (the executives) loose. Get rid of them all. Ban them from ever holding an executive position again.

[TheWatcher]

34. No. THEY DO GET IT. That's what so many people are missing.

This is not a case of not getting it. This is Looting And Stealing BY DESIGN.

I will say that again.

BY DESIGN.

They know EXACTLY what they are doing.

They are transferring everything from YOU to THEM and looting and stealing everything they can, because they believe that NO ONE, Not you, Not Me, Not Congress, Not Obama, NOT GOD will stop them, or has the Power or the BALLS to stop them.

These people are Economic, White Collar GANGSTERS.

They are the White Collar Mafia.

Or Robber Barons or whatever you wish to call them.

Please recall Kyle Reese's words to Sarah Connor in Terminator.

"That's What He DOES."

"That's ALL He DOES."

"And He Will NEVER STOP. Until You Are DEAD."

[JerseygirlCT]

22. But, but, but

It's stimulus spending, yeah, that's the ticket!

They crack me up. First they rate-jack me, now I'm being spammed almost continuously - Citi trying to get me to sign people up for their cards. Yeah, I don't think so.

[suegeo]

23. Don't our VA hospitals need a few upgrades as well?

[LuckyTheDog]

24. And when they see a welfare mom using food stamps to buy steak...

...those same execs probably feel resentful and "want to say something."

[Blaze Diem]

25. Suprised he didn't sell it as a "putting people back to work" idea.

CITI is "shovel ready".

[Initech]

26. Same shit different day.

First AIG (more like ARRRRG) now Citibank. Dont these fuckers get it yet? :mad:

[sarcasmo]

27. I guess we have to stop giving these Greedy Fuckers money and close accounts for them to get the

Message.

[TheWatcher]

31. No we have to PHYSICALLY stop them from doing what they are doing

STRIP them of their assets, take everything they've got, give them Due Process, Indict, Convict, Incarcerate, and Throw Away the Goddamn KEY.

I have said it before and I will say it again.

These people are ARROGANT.

They think you are STUPID.

They think you are POWERLESS to STOP THEM.

They think GOD is POWERLESS to STOP THEM.

They are criminal little Psychopaths and Sociopaths who WILL NOT STOP what they are doing to you and this country until one of two circumstances happen.

1. They are STOPPED phsyically, legally, metaphorically, or otherwise by a method that gives them NO ABILITY to keep doing likewise.

2. All of us are dead and they move on to another country to destroy.

The British did not stop until we stopped them during the Revolution.

Maybe the Bankers and the Corporations who are REALLY running things in this country are the new Red Coats.

Take from that what you will.

[brentspeak]

28. Send these crooks into space.

Let them out of the space shuttle without a suit.

[TheWatcher]

32. No send them to Jail.

To Rot.

Forever.

[POAS]

36. "Pigs In Space"

Now we need a casting call:

Captain Link Hogthrob to be played by: ????

First Mate Piggy played by: ????

and of course

Dr. Julius Strangepork played by: ????

[No Elephants]

29. PIGS.

[TheWatcher]

30. Ahhhhh, NOW I get it. So we all just misread the Conveniently "leaked" memo that The Stock Market

Has been Partying on the backs of for the past two weeks.

He didn't mean Citi ITSELF was "Profitable" in the first two months of the Quarter.

He meant that HE HIMSELF was "Profitable" in the first two months of the Quarter.

Makes more sense.

My message to the American People:

WHEN are you going to STOP listening to the Propaganda and BULLSHIT that Pandit and people like him are feeding you about his company, the economy, et al.

And then they just run around looting and stealing EVERYTHING THAT ISN'T NAILED DOWN. (Don't Worry, they'll get to the stuff that's Nailed Down later.)

When are you going to get it?

What does it take?

HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO LET THIS STAND?

HOW LONG ARE WE GOING TO LET THIS GO ON?

And WHERE the FUCK is our LEADERSHIP?

Where is Congress? Where is the RULE OF LAW?

These. People. Should. Be. In.

JAIL.

[Hannah Bell]

33. i guess these guys are *trying* to provoke unrest. seriously.

it's too blatant & in-your-face.


unrest gets us new police powers & right-wing populism.