Pandit: Citi operating at profit through February

[March 10, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit says the embattled bank has been operating at a profit through the first two months of the year.

In a letter sent to employees Monday, Pandit said Citi had an operating profit of $8.3 billion before taxes and special items through February. He says that is the bank's best performance since the third quarter of 2007.

Pandit is not saying how large the special items have been. Those would include credit losses, write-downs and additions to loan-loss reserves and would at least partially offset an operating profit.

The letter was written to reassure employees as the New York-based bank's stock has taken a beating in recent weeks as the government is increasing its stake in the bank.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.