Citigroup on Monday bought the banking operations of Wachovia.Citi will pay $2.2bn for the deposit book and Wachovia's branches and will take losses of up to $42bn on their $312bn portfolio of troubled mortgage and property assets, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, a banking regulator, shouldering any amount beyond that. In return for that cap on losses, Citi agreed to give the FDIC a $12bn stake in the form of preferred shares and warrants. Although the FDIC will not hold any voting rights, the arrangement could turn the government entity into one of Citiâ??s largest shareholders.
Citi needs to raise $10bn in capital and cut its dividend to fund the deal. Credit rating agencies announced that they might downgrade Citi as a result of the deal.
