CNBC's Becky Quick and Joe Kernen, report Citigroup's Vikram Pandit is stepping down.
By NBC News staff and wire reports
In a move that stunned Wall Street, Citigroup's Vikram Pandit announced Tuesday he has stepped down as CEO of the banking giant and a member of its board.
The move is effective immediately.
The announcement, which came a day after Citigroup released solid earnings, also said that Chief Operating Officer John Havens, a close associate of Pandit, would step down.
Pandit, 55, will be replaced by Michael Corbat, who was previously Citi?s chief executive for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Pandit?s departure was bewildering to analysts, as it came just one day after the bank reported strong revenue growth in its latest financial quarter, even as the bank?s net income declined.
?It does seem strange to me that someone would step away after reporting better-than-expected numbers and certainly do a lot to reconfigure the company for going forward,? said Peter Jankovski, co-chief investment officer at Oakbrook Investments in Lisle, Il., said.
?I would have expected he wanted to stay around and see some of the fruits of his labors there,? he added.
Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer at Sarhan Capital in New York, said ?Pandit is leaving at the top of the game and leaving the company in great hands, but the timing of the move is shocking.?
?Why they didn?t announce it with the earnings is a question that needs to be answered,? he added.
Indian-born Pandit became CEO of Citigroup on Dec. 11, 2007. He is a graduate of Columbia University, where he earned a MBA in 1980, followed by a Ph.D. in finance in 1986.
Matt McCormick, a banking analyst and portfolio manager Cincinnati-based Bahl & Gaynor, said Pandit had struggled to establish an identity for Citigroup.
?I would say ultimately he was unsuccessful in having people know what Citigroup stands for and what it does,? he said. ?He was not beloved by Wall Street. He was the accidental president. He was thrust into that position; he?s a hedge fund guy.?
Investment banker Richard Christopher Whalen of Tangent Capital Partners said Pandit?s departure is a ?good moment for Citigroup.?
?He should have left years ago,? he told CNBC, adding that the bank is doing the right thing by ?reaching inside? for Pandit?s successor.
In a memo to Citigroup employees Tuesday, incoming CEO Corbat he is ?both humbled by the confidence the Board has placed in me, and excited by the prospect of working closely with our management team and the Board to take our Company forward.?
?Over the last five years, Vikram has led Citi back to its roots as a bank, building on our legacy of serving clients and helping them on their journey from ambition to achievement,? Corbat added. ?I believe the fundamentals we have in place today are strong and that we are on the right path.?
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Click here to check Citigroup?s stock price.
Source: http://marketday.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/16/14478671-citigroups-ceo-vikram-pandit-steps-down?lite
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