Citigroup reports new loss of $8.29 bn

Citigroup on Friday announced its fifth straight quarter of net losses, though it said it continues to focus on getting 'fit'.

Citigroup reports new loss of $8.29 bn

Citigroup on Friday announced its fifth straight quarter of net losses, though it said it continues to focus on getting 'fit'.

According to a press release, the company had a fourth quarter net loss this year of $8.29 billion.

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For the full year of 2008, the company reported revenues of $52.8 billion, reflecting a net loss of $18.72 billion. That was worse than analysts had forecast.

A year ago, the company reported a loss of $9.8 billion.

"Our results continued to be depressed by an unprecedented dislocation in capital markets and a weak economy," said Vikram Pandit, chief executive officer of Citigroup Inc.

"A number of our core customer franchises continued to perform well, as Citi's customers remain active and engaged with us. We continued to make progress on our primary goal in 2008 - which was to get fit," he said.

However, Pandit said that he expects further volatility in 2009. The company also noted that recent guarantees and aid from the US government should reduce risk.

The company also announced that it would separate the company into two separate entities for management purposes.

The new companies are Citigroup and Citi Holdings.

The move marks a departure from Citigroup's aspirations to be a one-stop shop for all financial services.

Additionally, the release stated that the company has shed about 29,000 workers since the third quarter of 2008 and approximately 52,000 throughout the course of 2008.

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