Shares of Citigroup Inc., once the nation’s most powerful bank with branches in Connecticut, fell below $1 a share today.
The stock fell as low as 97 cents in late morning trading. It was down 11 cents, or 9.7 percent, at $1.02 in mid-afternoon.
New York-based Citi has lost more than 85 percent of its value so far this year, and is down more than 95 percent from a year ago as the bank was pummeled by the financial market crisis.
Citigroup’s shares will remain on the New York Stock Exchange. Last week, the NYSE relaxed its listing rules to allow stocks that fall under $1 to still be listed and traded on the exchange.
The exchange said the change was warranted given the “current period of unusual market volatility and decline.”
Ordinarily, an NYSE-listed company’s shares cannot remain below $1 for more than 30 consecutive days. If that happens, the company gets about six months to prove to the NYSE it can boost its stock price.
Citigroup used to be not only the largest bank by assets, but also by market capitalization, which has now been decimated by the stock’s decline. At the start of 2007, its market cap was riding high at around $270 billion. But by March 2008, it had fallen below the $100 billion mark. Now, it’s at $6.2 billion. (AP)