Citigroup (NYSE: C) may have a new leadership team, but don't expect any miracles [subscription required]. In a conference call yesterday with CFO Gary Crittenden and the new Citigroup chairman Robert Rubin, analysts were told that Citigroup would not be able to clean up its problems related to the mortgage and credit mess until the middle of 2008. Citigroup expects to write down between $8 billion and $11 billion in the fourth quarter, but that could go even higher.

Crittenden did repeatedly try to assure investors that the dividend level would be maintained, saying, "Based on our current assumptions, we do expect that we will be maintaining our current dividend level. We have no reason to think that is anything other than absolutely the case and we anticipate that we will return to the range of our targeted capital ratios by the end of the second quarter 2008."

The question is how sure are they? They admit that most of what has unfolded happened through the month of October and that the potential losses for Citigroup raked up by its banks and investment houses could total more than $30 billion. When asked by Mike Mayo, an analyst for Deutshe Bank, "In the terms of the charges, can you give us any assurances that there is not another shoe to drop?" Crittenden answered, "Well, no Mike, I obviously can't give you any assurances. By the very nature of what I have said through this call, we are making an estimate right now ..."