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Citigroup Announces Departure of Two Executives

One day after posting better-than-expected-albeit reduced-Q3 ""quarterly earnings"":https://themreport.com/articles/net-income-down-for-citigroup-in-q3-2012-10-15, ""Citigroup"":http://www.citigroup.com/citi/ announced the resignations of CEO Vikram Pandit and president and COO John P. Havens.

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Pandit's sudden and unexpected announcement has some analysts and investors baffled. Michael Jones, chairman and chief investment officer of ""Riverfront Investment Group"":http://www.riverfrontig.com/, LLC, told ""Reuters"":http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/16/us-citigroup-pandit-instant-view-idUSBRE89F0QL20121016 he thinks the move raises ""red flags everywhere.""

""It raises tremendous questions,"" Jones said. ""I think you can only attribute it to one of two things: either he has the most incompetent public relations people advising him on how to handle something like this, or something suddenly has been revealed that has caused him to have to step down, and not just step down but also step off the board immediately.""

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Other investors speculated the departure of two executives may indicate a division between the two men and the rest of the board.

Havens, who also served as CEO of Citi's Institutional Clients Group, said he had already been planning retirement at year-end. In light of Pandit's resignation, he decided to take his leave early.

For his part, Pandit is playing his cards close to the chest.

""Citigroup is well-positioned for continued profitability and growth, having refocused the franchise on the basics of banking,"" he said in the company's announcement. ""Given the progress we have made in the last few years, I have concluded that now is the right time for someone else to take the helm at Citigroup.""

Filling Pandit's shoes as CEO is Michael Corbat, who previously served as Citigroup's CEO of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

""With unprecedented economic, regulatory and political change, my top priority is to keep us focused on what our clients need, both today and tomorrow,"" Corbat said. ""The Board and I firmly believe in Citigroup's future, and together are committed to delivering sustained profitability and shareholder returns.""

While the announcement may have been shocking to some investors, it wasn't totally unwelcome├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬ØCiti's ""shares"":http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=C jumped nearly 2 percent in early trading following the release.

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