Time for the Government to Buy Citigroup

No real point to merging it into JPMorgan Chase or Bank of America. And it is definitely too big to fail.

Who wants to be Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Citigroup?

Peter Eavis:

Share Slump Tests Citi Limits: Following steep drops all week, Citi's shares shed another 26% Thursday, even after Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a large and longtime shareholder, said he plans to increase his stake in the bank.... The market appears to be in a game of chicken with the government over Citi.... The political risk of giving banks basically free money is huge. And even that mightn't do the trick.... The only way to get that [leverage] ratio down is to slash assets -- almost impossible right now -- or issue a large amount of common stock. And that is the dilemma for the government. Citigroup's market value is $26 billion. If the government wanted to inject another, say, $25 billion through common stock it would end up controlling the bank...

Yep. Time to do it. Swedish model. No more of this "preferred stock capital injection" business. Common stock. And with commitment comes control.