[ by Larry Goldfarb ]

Most analysts attribute Vikram Pandit's demise at Citi to Treasury’s withholding approval to allow a share buyback.  The Government said, at the time, that Citi's financial condition was not consistent with initiating a share buyback, a slap in the face to the then CEO.

Well, Citi will give it another try.  According to the WSJournal, the 3rd-biggest U.S. bank will seek Federal Reserve approval to boost shareholder returns by buying back a small amount of stock under an annual capital plan.  The bank probably won’t request a dividend increase and the buyback request may be “minimal.”  Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat is seeking to the pitfall that consumed his predecessor.

The Citi disclosure comes at a time when the biggest Wall Street firms are preparing to submit capital plans to the Fed as the central bank carries out stress tests of the lenders’ financial safety. 

For more information, please read [Bloomberg, 1/5/13].