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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Citigroup's bad investment in Turkey = loss of $800 M ....


but will the executives responsible for, first the decision to invest and now the decision to take the huge loss, be deprived of their usual big bucks bonuses?  Never!
And, yet you wonder why ordinary folks despise the banksters?


From Bloomberg:
Citigroup Loses $800 Million as It Exits Turkey’s Akbank
Citigroup Inc. is ending its investment in Akbank TAS, Turkey’s second-largest bank by market value, at a loss of $800 million on the value of its 2007 purchase.

The U.S.-based lender sold all of its remaining 9.9 percent holding in the Istanbul-based bank for $1.15 billion dollars, it said in a statement on Thursday. The bank negotiated an early exit from a three-year lockup agreement it signed with Akbank’s main owner, Sabanci Holding, when it sold an almost equivalent stake for the same amount in 2012.

The two disposals generated about $2.3 billion, compared with the $3.1 billion Citigroup spent buying the 20 percent stake in 2007. Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat is divesting minority stakes to focus on the New York-based lender’s core business. The early sale may signal that local stocks, already the world’s second-worst performers in the last month, have further to slide, according to analysts.

“The fact that Citi wanted to sell earlier than planned could be a bad indication for the markets,” said Cagdas Dogan, at BGC Partners Inc. “It sort of implies that they expect them to keep on falling.” ..........

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