Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Another Top Firm Closing Down Prop-Trading Unit

Citigroup, the third-biggest U.S. lender, said it’s closing a proprietary-trading unit that incurred losses in the third quarter, as regulators prepare to restrict banks from making bets with shareholder cash, Bloomberg reports.

The company is almost “two-thirds done” winding down the Equity Principal Strategies unit, CFO John Gerspach said yesterday in a conference call with analysts. Market turmoil caused a revenue decline for the unit, which suffered losses as it exited trading positions, Gerspach said.

CEO Vikram Pandit is shutting the business as lawmakers draft the so-called Volcker rule, which aims to restrict banks from making bets with shareholder money. Other firms including Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley already have exited similar businesses.

Find out more at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-17/citigroup-plans-to-shutter-proprietary-unit-after-rout-in-equity-trading.html

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