Citi Takes $6B in Subprime Hits

Citigroup Inc. incurred $6 billion in pretax subprime mortgage writedowns/credit costs and took a net $5.1 billion loss in the first quarter. Other writedowns during the quarter included "a downward credit adjustment of $1.5 billion related to exposure to monoline insurers," the company said. Fitch downgraded Citi's long-term issuer default rating and Standard and Poor's put Citi's counterparty credit rating on CreditWatch Negative in response to its earnings results. Citi chief executive officer Vikram Pandit said the company is taking steps to offset its concerns, including realigning its mortgage business, planning the sale over time of huge volumes of on-balance-sheet mortgage assets, and launching multibillion-dollar capital raising efforts.