Citigroup Posts $8.29 Billion Loss, Announce Split

Banking giant Citigroup announced its fifth straight quarterly loss—this time, it's $8.29 billion—and described plans to restructure. The NY Times reports, "Citigroup confirmed that it would divide, for management purposes, into two separate businesses — Citicorp and Citi Holdings," and the company's statement read, "We are setting out a clear road map to restore profitability and enable us to focus on maximizing the value of Citi." CEO Vikram Pandit added, "Our results continued to be depressed by an unprecedented dislocation in capital markets and a weak economy."

Citicorp will focus on traditional banking while Citi Holdings will have "riskier assets." Last year, Citigroup's value fell 77% and the company received $45 billion from the federal government. This year, Citi's stock value has fallen 43%. The company's split relieves some people; one told Bloomberg News, "It's one of the first steps towards some positive news and the end of this nightmare." Pandit is expected to depart and former Time Warner head Richard Parsons, who is currently Citi's "Lead Director," is rumored to be the next CEO.

In other banking news, the Senate approved to release the remaining TARP money. Bank of America released its 4th quarter results: It posted its first quarterly loss in 17 years—$1.79 billion—and noted that Merrill Lynch, which BoA is absorbing, lost over $15 billion. BoA will get $20 billion in new TARP money. Could the nationalization of banks be on the way?