Word: city
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...What's more, Citi's bid to expand in the Middle East at a time when the U.S. and the rest of the world was entering a financial crisis appears to be yet another management blunder for what was once the world's largest bank. It's also likely a black eye for Citi as it tries to convince the U.S. government that is wealthy and wise enough to pay back its government support. And unlike the mortgage mistakes, which can be blamed on past management, the rush to profits in Dubai happened under CEO Pandit...
...Holland, a money manager and the former chairman of Salomon Brothers Asset Management, which was acquired by Citigroup. "Being big everywhere is the business model he has chosen. That means when there are losses anywhere you are going to get hit." Things were booming there back in 2008 when Citi sent Verme to the gulf state - from 2004 through 2008 Citi's revenues from the region grew at a 30% average annual rate. He had run the bank's Latin American operations before being promoted to co-head of investment banking. In 2006, trade publication the Banker named Verme...
...Massive building projects funded by debt offerings was driving Dubai's economy, creating lot of opportunities for bankers. Many other banks followed Citi's lead. Citi reportedly built up a staff of 50 bankers in the area. But as things started to unravel Citi remained deeply invested in Dubai. In late 2008, just weeks after Citi had received its initial TARP funding from the government, Citi helped arrange an $8 billion loan for Dubai's state-linked companies. It's unclear how much of the loan Citi held onto. By that time, Citi's own research staff had begun...
...These days it is clear that Citi's outlook was much more positive than it should have been. If that's the case in other areas of the world, Citi could be looking at more losses down the road...
...original version of this story has been updated to reflect Citi's contention that Verme's job change was not a demotion, but a promotion, that Dubai was not a 'financial house of cards,' and that the bank is 'comfortable with [its] investment across all of the UAE.' When TIME originally asked about its operations in Dubai, Citi declined to discuss the situation in detail, or for publication...