Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit was talking up the embattled superbank’s recovery on CNBC yesterday. “I feel very good about how we’re positioned,” he said. “2012 is the year to look forward to.” Of course, this could just be executive bluffing. To really know how Citi is doing, you have to look closely at the details. By which we mean, the snacks on offer at their events. Let’s take a look back.
2009: At the annual shareholder meeting, the bank “skipped the coffee and doughnuts to save cash after three bailouts,” chairman Richard Parsons indicated to the Times.
April 2010: At the following year’s meeting, “the coffee was back. But what about the doughnuts? “This is called incremental progress,” Mr. Parsons said.
Thursday: At the launch celebrating their fancy new bank branches in Union Square yesterday, “the bank did not hold back on the glamour,” according to the Times. “It laid out a red carpet entrance at the entrance, built a coat check by the teller windows and hired a waiter to walk around with a platter of bite-size donuts and a sugary dipping sauce.”
Citigroup Opens Bank of the Future, Flat Screens and All [DealBook/NYT]
