Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) CFO Gary Crittenden, congratulations! You
have been given the job no one wants --
getting rid of managing all of Citigroup's $850 billion worth of bad assets. Meanwhile, the executive who orchestrated the good bank-bad bank idea in the first place, Edward "Ned" Kelly, previously the head of global banking, will assume your position as CFO.
Crittenden has his work cut out for him, but he has the qualifications to do it and apparently the patience as he is known to
virtually never get angry. Basically he'll be managing Smith Barney and helping to divest or create joint ventures with the consumer-lending
business CitiFinancial, the life insurer Primerica Financial Services
and $306 billion in toxic assets.
Crittenden began his career as a consultant at Bain and Co., was the CFO of Sears Roebuck and Co. in 1997 and 1998, served as the CFO of Monsanto Co. (NYSE:MON) from 1998 to 2000 and was executive vice president and CFO of American Express. Crittenden was hired by former chief executive Charles Prince two years
ago to get Citigroup's costs under control, according to
The Wall Street Journal. What's notable is that at American Express Crittenden helped focus on the credit card business
and spinning off the asset management and brokerage arm now known as Ameriprise Financial
Inc.
However, not everyone believes that Crittenden was the best suited for the job. Richard Bove, an analyst at
Rochdale Research, wrote in a note to clients as
Dealzone points out:
"This is a terrible mistake. It is the first that Vikram Pandit, CEO,
has made in my judgment, but it is a big error. Crittenden, who was formerly CFO of American Express, was qualified for
the job, while Kelly, a lawyer, 'has a superb reputation but there is
nothing in his background that suggests that he is qualified for this
job.' "
What is a bit concerning is that in 2007 Crittenden did not know how to value Citi's
subprime write-downs or holdings, at least according to an entry in "The Trillion Dollar Meltdown," by author Charles R. Morris, but apparently no one else did either.
- Maria Woehr(Follow me on Twitter
@newsgirlmw)
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