Citi taps ex-Treasury secretary as chair

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- A former U.S. Treasury secretary will take over as chairman of troubled Citigroup, which announced massive write-downs and the departure of its chief executive.

The bank's board named senior adviser and former Clinton administration Cabinet member Robert Rubin as chairman and Win Bischoff, chairman of Citigroup's European operations, as interim chief executive, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Charles Prince's four-year tenure at the helm of the financial services group ended Sunday as turbulence in the credit markets swamped the bank. Citigroup also said it would write off between $8 billion and $11 billion as a result of the declining value of subprime mortgage-related securities.

Conducting a search for a permanent CEO will be a committee that includes Rubin and board member Richard Parsons, chief executive of Time Warner, the Journal said.

Citibank's announced new losses are on top of the $2.2 billion in trading losses and mortgage-related write-downs it announced Oct. 15. Its third-quarter earnings were down 57 percent from a year earlier.