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Why did it take so long to kick Chuck Prince out of Citigroup?

Citigroup's Inc.'s (NYSE: C) board has had enough of Chuck Prince, according to the Wall Street Journal. At an emergency board meeting scheduled for this Sunday, he plans to resign.

As I posted last week, the big question in my mind was why it took Citigroup's board so long. It looks like the straw that broke the camel's back may have been an SEC review of how Citigroup accounted for its $80 billion in structured investment vehicles (SIVs). This is beginning to feel a little bit like Enron all over again.

Since Prince took over as CEO on October 1, 2003, Citigroup stock has lost 19% of its value. At least Stanley O'Neal at Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) had the dignity to boost its stock price 59% before walking away from his CEO tenure with $322 milion. (Although today's announcement about off balance sheet trades with hedge funds further tarnished O'Neal's reputation).

It will be interesting to see how much Citigroup's board rewards Prince for his failure and who will replace him. As a disgruntled shareholder, I am happy that Citigroup stock is up 3.3% after-hours. But it will take one outstanding person to restore Citigroup's upward momentum. I hope Citigroup's board chooses well.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns Citigroup stock and has no financial interest in Merrill Lynch.

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Last updated: December 02, 2008: 02:39 PM

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