Citigroup’s (NYSE: C) largest single shareholder, Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, said on Monday that he strongly supports CEO Vikram Pandit and that Pandit has his “firm backing.” The prince also congratulated the company on posting a first-quarter net profit totalling $4.4 billion.
“Citigroup has demonstrated its ability to overcome the recent economic obstacles,” Alwaleed said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. “I commend Citigroup’s performance and the management of Citigroup under the leadership of Pandit who has my firm backing,” he said.
Citi posted its strongest results in nearly three years on Monday, showing that the repercussions from the financial crisis are settling. Citigroup more than doubled its profit from the first quarter of 2009 and recorded record revenue from its investment banking unit.
In January of this year, The Saudi prince told Fox Business that Pandit had to “delivery results” in 2010 and that shareholders had already given the bank two years to turn itself around. Back in 2006, Alwaleed voiced his disapproval of former CEO Chuck Prince, complaining that the company’s costs were rising faster than its revenue.
Alwaleed owns 95% of Kingdom Holding Co. (4280.SA), which has focused its investments on banks, hotels and media firms, building sizable ownership stakes in companies including Citigroup, News Corp, Apple and Time Warner.
