Gov’t: Taxpayers make $12B on Citigroup bailout
WASHINGTON – After all is said and done, taxpayers will make a $12 billion profit on the government’s $45 billion bailout of Citigroup.
The Treasury Department said late Monday that it had struck a deal to sell its remaining holdings in Citigroup common stock, about 2.4 billion shares. With the proceeds of the sale, priced at $4.35 a share, the government will have realized $57 billion on its bailout package for the big bank.
“By selling all the remaining Citigroup shares today, we had an opportunity to lock in substantial profits for the taxpayer and avoid future risk,” said Tim Massad, the Treasury official who heads up the bailout program.
Citigroup received $45 billion in taxpayer support late in 2008 in one of the largest bailouts undertaken by the government as it struggled to contain the worst financial crisis to hit the country since the 1930s.
Those socialist bailouts, making a profit.