Citigroup CFO Crittenden says no intention to split company, current capital levels strong

Citigroup Inc. Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden said Wednesday there are no plans to split the company up because of credit-related problems and that its capital levels remain strong. Crittenden, speaking on a conference call with fixed-income investors, told investors that Citi managers "have no intention to split up the various elements of the bank" and that "it's not something we focus on at all." He said Citi has doubled its stockpile of cash and easy-to-sell securities to about $65 billion at the end of last month compared to $24 billion a year earlier. He also said Citi will be able to handle any losses created by new accounting rules that will force banks to move off-balance-sheet securities onto its books. The bank has about $1 trillion of assets, much of it loans, asset-backed securities and other obligations,... [read full story]