07/11/26 23:30:23
A $41 billion question mark is hanging over Citigroup Inc.
That is the amount, in a worst-case scenario, of potentially shaky securities the bank would need to bring onto its balance sheet.
Citi has already taken billions of dollars of such securities onto its balance sheet and expects to take big write-downs on those holdings.
The fate of the $41 billion rests on the outcome of a debate going on in accounting circles over what constitutes a "reconsideration event.
" Those who say Citi needs to put these securities, known as collateralized debt obligations, onto its balance sheet argue that
because Citi acted over the summer to backstop some of them, its relationship with them changed, prompting a reconsideration event.
At the moment, it seems unlikely Citigroup will be forced to bring the assets onto its books.
The bank doesn't believe such a reconsideration event is in order.
A spokeswoman says Citigroup is confident its "financial statements fully comply with all applicable rules and regulations."
But the division of opinion reflects debate within accounting circles over just how to interpret rules that govern off-balance-sheet treatment for some financing vehicles.
That, in turn, underscores what many consider to be a failure of these rules to ensure that investors in the companies that create these vehicles are adequately informed of the risks posed by them.