Citigroup is worried - and probably justifiably so - that they will lose some of the people who are actually making money for them. Those people work at Phibro, a commodities trading firm focusing on the energy market. Currently, all of their trading is for Citi's benefit. Their gains account for a large part of Citi's profit. The unit has, by and large, always been profitable, often hugely so. They don't really need Citi; Citi needs them. Without Phibro, Citi would have had even more disastrous numbers.
Anyway, Citi wants to pay the Phibro crew a bonus, which, under current government restrictions applicable to companies in which we have a large stake because we have given a lot of money to them, is difficult to do. So, Citi is asking Treasury before writing checks or issuing stock. This seems to be a case where a bonus is justified, but stock, rather than cash, would seem a better deal.
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