Citigroup (NYSE:C) is one of the world's largest diversified financial services firms, generating revenues of over $81 billion in 2007. The firm's principal businesses include: Global Consumer Group, Corporate and Investment Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Alternative Investments. Citigroup makes money by underwriting debt and equity issues, meaning that Citigroup helps other companies issue bonds or stocks to raise money. The firm also provides wealth management advice to wealthy clients in addition to providing mortgages, credit cards, and other financial services through its commercial banking division. The firm had over $2.1 trillion in assets as of December 30, 2007, serves clients through 2,900 retail branch locations and 1,800 consumer finance locations, and employs 332,000 people in 50 different countries.

Citi had significant exposure to the subprime mortgage industry and suffered considerable losses in 2007. After large write-downs on many of its mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, Citi's net income for the year fell 83% to $3.6 billion from $21.5 billion in 2006; for the first six months of 2008, Citi posted a net loss of $7.6 billion.^[1] As a result, Citi's management has been changed up noticeably, with former CEO Charles Prince stepping down. Citi has also sold stakes of itself to several outside investors to shore up the capital necessary to ride out the credit crunch. Along with these measures, Citi has sold non-core parts of its business; the most recent example was the July 2008 sale of its German retail banking operations to French firm Credit Mutuel.^[2]