Citigroup, Inc (NYSE: C) Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said that the New York-based bank is “very comfortable” with new capital requirements proposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision known as Basel III.
In an internal memo sent to Citigroup employees, Gerspach said in what he referred to as “Brief thoughts” that “While details on risk-weighted assets are still forthcoming, the Basel III agreement answers important questions and begins to create needed certainty.” The memo was first obtained by Bloomberg and the contents were confirmed by Citigroup spokeswoman Shannon Bell.
The Basel Committee on Banking plans on requiring banks to have a Tier 1 common equity equal of at least 4.5% of assets soon and 6% by 2019 and an additional capital buffer of 2.5%.
“We support capital requirements that will increase the safety and soundness of the banking system,” said Gerspach.
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 down 1.25 % during mid-day trading on Tuesday.
