Citigroup CEO to resign

Charles Prince is likely to offer his resignation as the chief executive officer of the biggest U.S. bank, Citigroup Inc. Sources familiar with the situation said that Citigroup Inc.'s board plans an emergency meeting on Sunday.

The $6.5 billion writedowns and losses which Citigroup took in the third quarter seems the most likely reason for Charles’ stepping down from the helm. He thus becomes the second casualty of the subprime mortgage writedowns doom after Merrill Lynch’s Stan O'Neal.

Analyst Richard Bove said, "The board may have simply reached the point where they can't take the pressure from stockholders and they have to remove him. They have to have some issue which is huge, pregnant and wasn't previously considered to justify removing him. The only issue that they could utilize is that there's a big writedown."

Charles O. Prince III, was born in Lynwood, California on January 13, 1950. He succeeded Sandy Weill as the CEO of the firm in 2003, and as the Chairman of the Board in 2006. He was the Executive Vice President of the Travelers Group. By virtue of the merger of Travelers and Citigroup Prince was named CEO of the newly created firm, Citigroup.

Prince was under pressure from investors to raise revenue, boost profitability, cut costs and bolster a lagging share price. When the mortgage crisis turned up the heat on Wall Street CEOs, Prince too has been scrutinized due to the dismal earnings report. Citigroup had reported a 57 drop in third-quarter profit and the management expected mortgage delinquencies and consumer lending to deteriorate for the rest of the year.

Robert Rubin, the former Treasury secretary who is the chairman of Citigroup's executive committee, is the likely interim replacement. Richard Parsons, a Citigroup board member who is expected to step down as CEO of Time Warner Inc. later this year is another possible replacement for Prince. NYSE Euronext CEO John Thain, too could be a candidate.

Citigroup shares which have already lost 32 percent this year fell another 78 cents, or 2 percent, to $37.73 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock, however, traded for $39.04 in extended hours.