Citi Names New Chief

Minutes ago, troubled banking behemoth Citigroup Inc. named Vikram S. Pandit its new CEO.  Pandit, who's been with Citi for only six months and is known more for his analytical prowess than managerial skills, will now face the formidable task of turning around a firm that just weeks ago wrote down $18 billion in bad debt.  Not to mention the task of increasing Citi's stock price, which has plummeted 38 percent this year.

Before joining Citi, Pandit ran his own hedge fund, and prior to that, he worked at competitor Morgan Stanley, a firm he left when it was clear he would not be receiving the nod to take over as chief at that firm.

But after the five-week search, following Charles Prince's resignation as Citigroup CEO, Pandit beat out such candidates as Robert B. Willumstad, Citi’s former president, and Michael A. Neal, the head of General Electric Capital’s commercial finance division.

Along with a new CEO, Citi also named a chairman, Winfried F. W. Bischoff.  According to The New York Times, the selection of Bischoff, who'd been serving as interim chief executive, came as "somewhat of a surprise," since previously he had "not been considered a candidate for the job."