Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The end is near: Citigroup Limits Meetings, Pares Color Photocopies
Citigroup Limits Meetings, Pares Color Photocopies
By Joyce Moullakis
Enlarge Image/DetailsAug. 26 (Bloomberg)—Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, banned off-site meetings among investment- banking employees and cut back on color photocopying to reduce expenses as revenue declines.
Executives in the New York-based bank’s trading and investment-banking unit will need to ensure spending is ``highly efficient,’’ according to an internal memorandum confirmed by a Citigroup spokesman in London today.
Citigroup is clamping down on spending after cutting about 14,000 jobs in the first half of 2008 and reporting $55 billion of writedowns and credit losses in the past year, more than any other bank, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue at the company’s corporate and investment bank plunged 71 percent in the second quarter on losses for subprime-related assets.
``They are cyclical businesses that do get a bit fat in the good days,’’ said Antony Gifford, who oversees about $4 billion in North American equities at Henderson Global Investors in London. ``It’s not material, but a worthwhile exercise for a company the size of Citigroup.’’
Under the new policy, employee meetings must be held within Citigroup offices and client events will require approval, the memo said. Color photocopiers will be removed from some locations and their use will be limited to client presentations. The memo didn’t say how much money the new rules will save.
``We have spent considerable time looking at our headcount and related expense, and while we have made progress in that area, we still have more work to do,’’ the memo said. Citigroup employs about 363,000 people globally.
Share Comparison
Citigroup has declined 39 percent this year on the New York Stock Exchange, compared with 30 percent at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. and 16 percent at JPMorgan Chase & Co., based in New York. Citigroup rose 23 cents to $17.84 in composite trading 4:13 p.m.
Financial firms globally have eliminated 101,250 jobs since the beginning of the credit crunch last year.
Merrill Lynch & Co., struggling to halt a four-quarter streak of $19 billion in losses, imposed a freeze on new hires this month and restricted the use of private jets, the Financial Times reported in July.
Deutsche Bank AG requires dealmakers to get their managers’ approval for taxi trips in advance, and business meals can’t exceed 50 pounds ($92) per person, the Independent newspaper reported in April.
Citigroup is also scaling back external training, which will be limited to that which is ``strictly necessary,’’ the memo said. Purchases of computer hardware and software must also be pre-approved under the new rules, as must all non-client travel, the bank said. The U.K.’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported the contents of the memo earlier today.
``We will be conducting a review of our Blackberry usage,’’ Citigroup said. ``In the interim, all new Blackberries will require pre-approval.’’
To contact the reporter on this story: Joyce Moullakis in London at .
Last Updated: August 26, 2008 16:14 EDT
Of course I’m VERY familiar with how goes when you’re constantly struggling to make ends meet. It’s nice to see that the criminals causing so much pain, suffering and misery no longer have the resources to MAKE money. As I just posted, the Citi recovery department is simply not functioning. People calling to settle debts are hung up on, disconnected and treated with extreme disrespect, making the most willing to pay debtors think twice about sending a payment.
I can’t blame the collectors for being in a rotton mood.
I’m sure they are abused just like the debtors and worried about losing their jobs.
Over the years I’ve had my share of dealings with Citi. The fraudulent foreclosure (not one of my documentaries, but a Credit Activist client) and the documented Citi fraud, having failed to credit payments they received. And the subsequent refusal to pay my client any damages although he had a (rather incompetent) attorney.
The bankers know when borrowers or their attorneys are clueless and most important, not sufficiently funded to get into a legal battle with the world’s largest corporations.
We can’t change how they operate, we can only REMOVE ourselves from this system by supporting alternatives like the COMMON GOOD BANKS.
We can enjoy the multi-national corporations’ demise only if we still have a way to continue to do business and bank. There is NO law requiring banks to be vile criminal organizations. It is perfectly legal to have a bank operate for the benefit of the PEOPLE.
Please SIGN UP NOW for the common good banks!
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