时事资讯:花旗将与联邦存款保险签署秘密协议

【英文原文】

Citi close to secret deal with regulator

摘要：花旗集团(Citigroup)与一家美国主要监管机构接近达成一项秘密协议，此举将强化对这家美国银行的监督，并迫使其解决财务、管理和治理方面存在的问题。

Citigroup is close to a secret agreement with one of its main regulators that will increase scrutiny of the US bank and force it to fix financial, managerial and governance issues.

People close to the situation said the deal had been discussed in recent weeks amid increased pressure on Citi from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the regulator, and could be finalised soon.

The proposed agreement requires that Citi, among other things, strengthen its board and governance, improves asset quality, manages expenses and provides more information to regulators on its capital and liquidity, these people added.

The regulator's action highlights concerns over Citi's financial health, governance and the strength of its management team, led by Vikram Pandit, chief executive.

The FDIC is known to be frustrated at Citi for the slow pace of “toxic” assets sales, its losses and the lack of commercial banking experience at the top.

An agreement would strengthen the FDIC's position in its dealings with Citi and its demands for detailed financial information as it deliberates whether to include the company on its list of “problem banks”.

Citi, which is about to cede a 34 per cent stake to the US government as part of its latest rescue, struck a similar agreement with another regulator late last year, industry executives say.

The bank and its main regulators – the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC – declined to comment.

Agreements between regulators and a bank's management and board are not made public to avoid stoking investors' fears.

They can take the form of a “memorandum of understanding” or a “commitment letter” from the bank to the authorities and are less serious than formal enforcement actions.