花旗要求償還美國政府TARP資金

Citigroup is racing against the clock to convince the US authorities to be allowed to repay $20bn of bail-out funds, with insiders and regulators arguing that unless the bank acts in the next 10 days it will have to wait for more than a month.

花旗集團(Citigroup)正在爭分奪秒的說服美國有關當局，表示應該準許其償還200億美元紓困資金。知情人士和監(jiān)管人士認為，除非該行在未來10天內采取行動，否則它將不得不再等上一個多月。

The short window for a decision on the repayment of funds from the troubled asset relief programme raises the stakes for Citi in its quest to free itself from the shackles of the government, which also owns a 34 per cent stake in the lender.

在償還問題資產救助計劃(Tarp)資金問題上作出決定的機會之窗如此之小，使花旗擺脫政府束縛的努力更加關系重大。政府現在還持有該行34%的股份。

Separately, the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, has made a $1.1bn profit after selling its entire 5 per cent stake in Citi for $4.1bn, less than two years after acquiring preferred shares in the ailing bank during the financial crisis.

另外，科威特主權財富基金科威特投資局(Kuwait Investment Authority)已經以41億美元全數出售其所持花旗5%的股份，獲利11億美元?？仆赝顿Y局曾在一年多前的金融危機期間，收購了這家陷入困境的銀行的部分優(yōu)先股。

The sale earned the sovereign wealth fund a 37 per cent return on its investment.

這家主權財富基金在這筆交易上收獲了37%的投資回報。

Citi's need to pay back the Tarp funds has been heightened by last week's surprise announcement that Bank of America had raised $19.3bn to repay $45bn. That move left Citi and Wells Fargo as the only two big banks that have yet to repay Tarp and remain subject to the strict limits on compensation and operations that accompanied last year's government cash injections.

美國銀行(Bank of America)上周出人意料的宣布，它已融資193億美元來償還450億美元Tarp資金。此舉加強了花旗償還Tarp資金的必要性，因為花旗和富國銀行(Wells Fargo)成為僅有的兩家尚未償還Tarp資金、仍在薪酬及運營方面受到嚴格限制的大銀行。這些限制是政府去年注資時附加的。

People close to the situation said that unless Citi can launch the capital-raising effort required to pay back Tarp by the middle of next week, it would become practically impossible to do so until after it reports year-end results in mid-January.

知情人士稱，除非花旗能夠在下周中期啟動償還Tarp資金所必需的融資工作，否則它在明年1月中旬發(fā)布年終業(yè)績前，將幾乎不可能進行融資。

Lawyers said it was not technically impossible to raise capital between the end of a quarter and the announcement of results but added that disclosure rules could make it difficult, especially for a company as complex and geographically diverse as Citi.

律師們表示，在季度末到業(yè)績發(fā)布前這段時間進行融資，在技術上并非不可行。但他們補充說，披露規(guī)則可能會使融資難以進行，尤其是對花旗這類業(yè)務復雜且分散在各地的公司來說。

Citi's executives have been lobbying Washington to be allowed to repay Tarp, arguing that the bank has cash reserves of more than $240bn and its financial performance is improving. However, Citi's situation is further complicated by the US government stake.

花旗高管一直在游說華盛頓方面準許其償還Tarp資金。他們辯稱，該行現金儲備已超過2400億美元，財務表現也正在改善。但美國政府的持股令該行的處境進一步復雜化。

People close to the situation said the government was willing to co-ordinate a sale of at least part of its stake with Citi's own capital-raising but the tight timing – and the authorities' lingering concerns over the bank's health – might delay that.

知情人士表示，政府愿意配合花旗的融資，出售其所持的至少一部分股份。但由于時間緊迫，有關當局對花旗的健康狀況又仍存疑慮，該行的融資工作可能會受到拖延。

Citi declined to comment but insiders acknowledged that unless it could launch a share offering by December 14 or 15, it would probably to have to wait until at least late January.

花旗拒絕置評。但知情人士承認，除非該行能夠在12月14日或15日前啟動售股工作，否則它很可能將不得不至少等到明年1月下旬。