The Treasury Department said Monday that it would begin selling the 7.7 billion shares of Citibank it obtained in exchange for giving the bank $25 billion in 2008, the Associated Press reports. The government is working to shed the investments it made in American banks and corporations under the Toxic Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Selling its holdings of Citi stock could net the U.S. a significant profit. Citi, one of the hardest hit banks during the 2008 financial crisis, received $45 billion in bailout money, $25 million of which was converted to the stake the government is now preparing to sell. Citi repaid the other $20 billion in December 2009.
The government paid $3.25 a share for its nearly 8 billion shares. The Treasury put them on the market just as Citi was set to repay its bailout money in December, only to find lukewarm interest. The best price offered was $3.10 per share, a 15-cent loss per share that would have added up to nearly $160 million.
Citi shares rose to $4.39 on Monday morning, but had fallen to $4.17 by noon Eastern time. A sale at $4.39 per share would net the government an $8 billion profit.