Citigroup suing a pawnshop ... seriously

Yesterday's announcement revealed that $25.7 billion of the money will go to residential mortgage lending, with $2.5 billion dedicated to personal and business loans, $1 billion for student loans, $5.8 billion for credit card lending, and $1.5 billion earmarked for corporate loans. C's CEO Vikram Pandit stated, "The government, on behalf of the American taxpayer, has invested in Citigroup ... We have an obligation to repay in ways that will go well beyond the $3.41 billion Citigroup will pay the government each year in dividends associated with its TARP investment."

A good move, and although the TARP money is being tracked, the company is trying to make the spending transparent. Perhaps I am making a big deal out of nothing ... but why would C then turn around and announce that it is suing, of all things, a pawn shop?

Granted, the company wants to protect its intellectual property and its trademark, but the company is suing All Citi Pawn (which uses a red "V" over the word Citi). Yes, it looks similar and it is more than likely stolen from the company - but I would worry about other things. I mean, can your name being associated with a pawn shop be much worse than your name being associated with what some think is the root of the current market crisis?

Tell you what C, get that money paid back and then worry about what companies may be "borrowing" your name. I mean, heck, it may have hurt the pawn shop more than it helped ... of course, C may find that out for itself, as it is suing the pawn shop for all its profits since borrowing the Citi name.