The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, New York

Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Charles Prince plans to resign this weekend, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday, as the widening subprime mortgage crisis brings to an end the reign of Sanford Weill's troubled successor. The largest US bank by assets plans to hold an emergency board meeting on Sunday, at which Prince will step down, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the situation.

Citigroup spokesman Michael Hanretta declined to comment. Prince did not immediately return a call to his office.

Speculation that Prince's hold on his job was tenuous has swirled for weeks, after a $6.5 billion third-quarter write-down fed fears of more losses to come, dragging Citigroup's shares to a 4-1/2-year low.

"Prince had told investors this would be the year of no excuses. It unfolded into a year of lots of excuses," said Thomas Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which invests more than $3 billion and owns Citigroup shares.

Prince's departure would be the second of a top Wall Street executive in less than a week, following Tuesday's ouster of Merrill Lynch & Co Chief Executive Stan O'Neal, following an $8.4 billion write-down.

A lawyer by training, Prince is widely credited with having addressed Citigroup's many legal and regulatory problems after he replaced Weill in October 2003. But he has struggled to consistently boost revenue faster than costs, raising worries about whether it has sufficient capital to grow and boost profitability. It was not immediately clear who might replace Prince at Citigroup. Analysts have said the bank has few, if any, candidates ready to step in now. Robert Rubin, the former Goldman Sachs & Co chief and US Treasury Secretary who chairs Citigroup's executive, was being floated as an interim replacement, but is reluctant to take over, the Journal said.

"He may not want the job, but if you are a Citigroup stockholder, you would wish he would take over," said James Armstrong, president at Henry H. Armstrong Associates, which does not own the bank's shares.