Citigroup Warns Customers It May Refuse To Allow Withdrawals http://www.businessinsider.com/citigroup-warns-customers-it-may-refuse-to-allow-withdrawals-2010-2
No biggie. Basically deposting your money in a bank is like loaning the bank your money, there's some kind of contract that they "owe" you your money but you might have to sue to get it.
So let me see....first Citi raises rates on their Credit Cards to 30%, even on accounts that are up to date or have zero balances and now they say they "may" not give you your money for 7 days. 1. I have a Citi credit card but there is a zero percent chance I'd use it and, 2. I don't have a checking account with Citi but if I did there would be a 100% chance I'd be closing it. If there was ever a zombie bank Citi is it.
Something's fishy here: Industry News: Hedge Funds Go On Citigroup (NYSE: C) Buying Spree In Q4 More than 100 hedge funds snatched up shares of Citigroup (NYSE: C) during the fourth quarter of 2009, with large well-known names like George Soros, Eric Mindich and John Paulson purchasing nearly a half billion shares in the bank. The buying spree by the hedge fund arena was further evidenced by the fact 10 shares of Citigroup were bought by a fund for every one sold during the final three months of 2009. All told, the hedge fund industry had a net addition of Citigroup shares of roughly 1.2 billion. John Paulsonâs Paulson & Co. reported a stake of 506.7 million Citi shares, according to a regulatory filing. Thatâs up from roughly 300 million reported at the end of the third quarter. Eric Mindichâs Eton Park Capital Management LP picked up 138 million shares, which made Citigroup its largest single holding. The Soros Fund Management LLC reported a stake of 94.7 million shares. Since the credit crisis shares of big banks like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) have more than doubled; a move Citigroup is yet to make. Following its recent equity offering to raise money to repay TARP funds, hedge fund managers may be betting on Citigroup to make a similar rebound once freed from government restrictions tied to taxpayer money. Many managers, like David Tepper, drastically increased their Citigroup stake. Tepperâs Appaloosa Management LP bumped its stake by 73 percent with the addition of 58.4 million shares. Furthermore, itâs not hard for funds to build large positions in the stock with it trading in the mid-$3 level, which is slightly lower than the stockâs average price of $4.10 during the fourth quarter. Information on hedge fund purchases is usually available 45 days after a quarter end as firms are required to file a form 13F listing their U.S. stock trades. http://www.americanbankingnews.com/2010/02/18/hedge-funds-go-on-citigroup-nyse-c-buying-spree-in-q4/