Of Course Americans Still Hate Banks

BY AMY HE

But you can’t blame them, right?

Earlier this week, MarketWatch listed the ten most-hated companies in America, and to my big surprise, a financial institution made the list. And by surprise, I mean no surprise at all.

Citigroup is the sole financial institution on the list, joining the likes of American Airlines, JC Penny, T-Mobile and Hewlett-Packard. What fine company you keep, Citi.

The list was compiled by 24/7 Wall St., who analyzed companies by looking at their stock performance, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. This is what 24/7 Wall St. had to say about why Citi is one of the most-hated companies in America today:

Citigroup sacked CEO Vikram Pandit, left, late last year, after he had shepherded the bank through the financial crisis and then fired thousands of workers as well. Pandit’s successor, Michael Corbat, said he would fire 11,000 more. The bank’s board may have been frustrated with the pace of cost reductions under Pandit, but that was not the only issue that the board apparently believed had hurt long-term shareholder value. Pandit’s mishandling of the sale of its Smith Barney unit caused Citi to write down $2.9 billion, and the action triggered a cut in its credit ratings by Moody’s. Such actions did not endear Citi to investors. The recovery of Citi’s shares since the global financial meltdown has been far worse than its major competitors.

The minutia of investment deals and investor quarrels at big financial institutions like Citi is of no concern to regular Joe Schmoes like you and I. All we know is that a lot of money is being thrown around, and we’re not really benefiting that much from it, if at all. (Have you seen those saving rates?)

continue reading »