Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) CEO Has Lunch with Large Investors

Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) CEO Vikram Pandit hosted a lunch on Tuesday with the bank’s largest investors at a time when the New York-based bank is in the midst of a controversy relating to its accounting practices and while the company’s stock has remained relatively stagnant at $4.00 per share.

The lunch, first reported by FOX Business Network’s Charles Gasparino,  included Citigroup Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach and about two dozen institutional clients of Bernstein & Co, a research firm, at the bank’s headquarters in New York. In his report, Gasparino said that the Citigroup spokesperson described the meeting as “private and routine” and that the meeting had been previously scheduled.

Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) has been surrounded by controversy since analyst Mike Mayo accused the bank in participating in deceptive accounting practices by setting aside funds for certain deferred tax assets. Since his criticism, Mayo has been shut out of meetings with Citigroup for his critical opinion of the company for two years, but was told last week he would be given a meeting in the near future.

Gasparino said that it was likely that Pandit and Gerspach would be questioned about its accounting of its deferred tax assets during the lunch. Mayo suggests that Citigroup has improperly inflated its value by as much as $10 billion with the use of DTAs.

Citigroup Inc. (Citigroup) is a global diversified financial services holding company. The Company provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a range of financial products and services. As of December 31, 2009, Citigroup had approximately 200 million customer accounts and did business in more than 140 countries. Citigroup operates through two primary business segments: Citicorp, consisting of its Regional Consumer Banking (RCB) businesses and Institutional Clients Group (ICG), and Citi Holdings, consisting of its Brokerage and Asset Management (BAM), Local Consumer Lending (LCL), and Special Asset Pool (SAP). In April 2010, Barclays PLC acquired Italian credit card business of Citibank International Bank plc. In May 2010, the Company announced the creation of a new Collateral Management Services unit within its Securities and Fund Services business.

Shares of Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) traded up 0.65% during mid-day trading on Tuesday.