Report: Citi board to meet next week, may choose CEO

NEW YORK -- The people, according to Dow Jones, said the current frontrunner for the CEO job is the head of Citi's investment bank and alternative investments businesses, Vikram Pandit.

Pandit worked at the brokerage Morgan Stanley for about 11 years until 2005, when he and some Morgan Stanley colleagues quit and later founded the hedge fund Old Lane Partners.

Earlier this year, Citigroup bought Old Lane for $800 million and put Pandit in charge of Citi's alternative investments.

Then, after Citi warned in October of multi-billion-dollar losses during the third quarter due to bad bets on subprime mortgages, Pandit was promoted to lead a unit that combined the markets and banking segment with alternative investments.

Citigroup estimated on Nov. 4 that it would have to write down an additional $8 billion to $11 billion in the fourth quarter. It was the same night that Charles Prince stepped down from the CEO position, and former Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin was named chairman. Citi's European chief Win Bischoff was appointed interim CEO.

Citigroup spokespeople declined to comment on whether the board was meeting next week or about the search committee's progress.