Last month, we noted that former FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair had some choice words regarding Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit in her new book, Bull By the Horns. After Citi said he was stepping down in a statement released today, Ms. Bair offered six more words to her assessment:
“This was a very positive move,” she said in an interview with Tom Keene and Ken Prewitt on Bloomberg Radio.
You can read her comments on Mr. Pandit from her book below.“Pandit was the CEO of Citigroup, which had earlier bollixed its own attempt to buy Wachovia,” “there was bitterness in his eyes,” “Pandit looked nervous, and no wonder,” “I thought Pandit had been a poor choice,” “he was a hedge fund manager by occupation and one with a mixed record,” “he had no experience as a commercial banker,” “no private investor was likely to invest in Pandit’s bank,” “wouldn’t have known how to underwrite a loan if his life depended on it,” “I was particularly concerned about Citi’s CEO, Vikram Pandit,” “Citi’s management performance during the crisis had not been impressive,” “they had a difficult time making decisions and then executing once the decisions were made,” “couldn’t we at least bring in an experienced commercial banker to run the place?” “I doubted that many senior commercial bankers would be willing to work for Vikram, given his weak reputation,” “he was also boasting that at some point it would start paying dividends again. We had laughed those stories off as delusional.”
