Citigroup still affected by 'Dr Evil' bond strategy

NEW YORK – According to statistics from Bloomberg, nearly two years after Citigroup irritated regulators and bond market participants alike with its "Doctor Evil" bond trading strategy, the scandal is still hurting Citigroup shareholders.

According to the Bloomberg statistics, Citigroup arranged just 2.3% of the @155 billion ($196 billion) in debt sold by the governments since the trading strategy was launched on August 2, 2004. That's just a fifth of its market-leading 10.1% share in 2003, the data shows.

As a result, Citigroup has lost out on lucrative fees for handling sales of state assets – Citigroup is now 14th among advisers on European privatisations, down from third.

On government bond sales, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs have displaced the firm at the top.

In terms of share price, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. now has a market value 2.7% less than Citigroup's $233 billion, compared with a gap of more than 50% three years ago. Citigroup was overtaken as the world's biggest lender by assets when Japan's Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. bought UFJ Holdings Inc. in September.

The UK's Financial Services Authority fined Citigroup £13.9 million in June 2005 as a result of the transaction, although it did not pursue action against individual traders.