Citigroup appoints new chief executive

Citigroup has appointed its new chief executive, following the departure of Chuck Price in November in the wake of mammoth subprime write-downs in the third quarter. Vikram Pandit, formerly chairman and chief executive of Citi's institutional clients group, will take over the reins - a move that surprised some analysts given his lack of familiarity with retail banking.

Before joining Citi, Pandit was a founding member and chairman of Old Lane, a hedge fund and private equity fund manager