Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a prominent Saudi investor in Citigroup Inc, reiterated on Monday his support for the bank and said he was pleased at its quarterly financial results. Alwaleed, the nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, is a major Citigroup shareholder through his 95 percent ownership of Kingdom Holding Co.
The prince congratulated Citigroup chief executive Vikram Pandit on the bank’s performance in the first quarter, Kingdom Holding said in a statement.
In a statement, Alwaleed said: “Citigroup has demonstrated its ability to overcome the recent economic obstacles. I commend Citigroup’s performance and the management of Citigroup under the leadership of Vikaram Pandit who has my firm backing.”
Citigroup posted a $4.43 billion first quarter profit, its best result in more than two years, as the global economic recovery lifted the values of its worst assets and allowed the bank to set aside less money to cover credit losses.
In March, Alwaleed said he thought the bank was on the right track and was happy with the stake his holding company owns. Alwaleed has repeatedly expressed his support for Pandit whom he said faces a make or break year. (Reuters)
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