Citigroup stake sale makes $12bn profit for US taxpayers

The US government sold off its remaining shares in Citigroup yesterday, making a strong profit from its ownership of the bailed-out banking giant.

The share sale at $4.35 each, 10 cents below Citi's $4.45 closing price on the NYSE, means the Treasury has generated a $12bn gross profit for taxpayers from the stake, Reuters reports. During the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, the US government invested a total of $45bn to bail out Citigroup. "By selling all the remaining Citigroup shares today, we had an opportunity to lock in substantial profits for the taxpayer and avoid future risk," Treasury acting assistant secretary for financial stability Tim Massad says. "With this transaction, we have advanced our goals of recovering...