US Treasury sells last Citigroup holding

The US Treasury Department said Tuesday it was selling its last holding in Citigroup, one of the banks rescued by the government amid the 2008 financial crisis. The sale of Citigroup subordinated notes is expected to add $894 million to the Treasury's coffers, bringing the overall positive return to US taxpayers on the investment to more than $13.4 billion, the Treasury said in a statement. The Treasury injected $45 billion into Citigroup under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program aimed at preventing the collapse of major financial institutions after the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in September 2008. It said it had fully recovered its TARP investment in Citigroup with a profit in 2010. The subordinated notes offered for sale Tuesday were issued in exchange for Citigroup securities previously held by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation "in order to maximize proceeds" on the transaction, the Treasury said. "Today's transaction is part of our continuing efforts to wind down TARP's bank investment programs, which helped stabilize our economy during a severe financial panic and delivered a profit for taxpayers," Tim Massad, assistant Treasury secretary for financial stability, said in the statement. In late December the Treasury exited its bailout of insurance giant American International Group, also rescued in the 2008 meltdown. The Treasury said the government had earned a $22.7 billion net profit on the AIG bailout. The Treasury still holds a stake in General Motors, the biggest US automaker, which was rescued by the US and Canadian governments in 2009.