[ by Howard Haykin ]

The Pundit's Abrupt Departure Leaves Many Questions Unanswered.

Citigroup's Board announced on Tuesday that, Vikram Pandit had stepped down, effective immediately.  Michael Corbat, head of the bank's European and Middle Eastern division, will replace Mr. Pandit.  Citi President and longtime associate of Mr. Pandit, John Havens, also resigned. 

The move comes one day after Citigroup reported surprisingly strong 3rd quarter earnings.  The bank earned $3.27 billion, or $1.06 a share, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $0.96 a share.  The company, however, took several one-time charges, including a big loss tied to the continued shedding of the Smith Barney brokerage unit. 

Shares of Citigroup fell 3% in pre-market trading, but have since rebounded and are up 0.5% at 9:45.

Mr. Pandit issued this solitary statement:  “Given the progress we have made in the last few years, I have concluded that now is the right time for someone else to take the helm at Citigroup.  I could not be leaving the company in better hands.”

And Then There Were Two. With today's departure, just 2 chief executives who ran Wall Street banks during the financial crisis remain in their posts:  JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein.

Coverage continues.