The U.S. Treasury has already received in return $41.6 billion of proceeds from Citigroup in stock sales and direct transfers. This compares to its original investment of $45 billion during 2008 and 2009 when the bank stood on the brink of collapse due to poor lending practices. The treasury still owns 12% of Citigroup stock which is valued today at $14 billion. The government is now up 22% on their Citigroup investment and has the opportunity to make more through warrants and stock appreciation.
The President of the United States, Barack Obama, had used Wall Street as an easy mark to rally support for anything he tried to do. Today as Obama's popularity sinks below 50% it may be time to find a new target. Citi, one of the nations most troubled financial institutions, has returned each U.S. taxpayer approximately $33 dollars.
Citigroup stock finished the week up 4.6% to close at $4.09.
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