Citigroup Inc.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aOQPmbrh1ZrA&refer=home

by Damian Paletta and David Enrich

Barney Frank Goes to Bat for Lender, and It Gets an Infusion

Troubled OneUnited Bank in Boston didn't look much like a candidate for aid from the Treasury Department's bank bailout fund last fall.

The Treasury had said it would give money only to healthy banks, to jump-start lending. But OneUnited had seen most of its capital evaporate. Moreover, it was under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses, including owning a Porsche for its executives' use.

Few things stir the blood more than Wall Street firms getting into a good old scrap. Put aside the internecine squabbling at Morgan Stanley - they don't come much better than the current dust-up between Citigroup (metals "super cycle") and Goldman Sachs (oil "super spike"), and Merrill Lynch - whose chief equity strategist, David Bowers, on Monday poured water on the idea of what he described as a resources bubble.

......The appeal of the consumer - even the most humble one - has grown during the current bear market, which has cut into the returns that banks earn from serving the rich and powerful.

The biggest recent wager has been placed by HSBC, which last month completed its $14bn purchase of Household International, a US consumer lender.