If you are having problems with trying to modify a Citi mortgage, or with Citi Bank collectors harassing you for credit card payments, why not try to talk things over with the owners?
Turns out the largest owner of Citi — for now, anyway — is, you guessed it, the American people.
As part of the TARP bailout hastily implemented in the fall of 2008 when the financial markets were crashing, the U.S. government has acquired a whopping 27% interest in the common stock of the troubled banking giant.
But this week, the Treasury Department announced plans to sell its shares during the course of 2010.
That’s good news for taxpayers as a whole; the government could realize as much as a $7 billion profit on the trade, because they bought in at $3.25 per share, and Citi is currently trading at about $4.14 per share.
But what about the considerable portion of those taxpayers who owe some money to Citi or one of its subdivisions? I’m afraid there’s not much help for them in this deal . . . . .
By Doug Beaton