Citigroup's ex-CEO does an about-face on big banks
By CHRISTINA REXRODE, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Sandy Weill built Citigroup into a mega-bank. Now, he says mega-banks should be broken up.
Weill, 79 and the former CEO of Citigroup, says investment banks should be split from consumer banks. That would mean breaking apart Citigroup as well as other big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.
Weill, speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box," seemed to surprise the show's anchors. The banking industry's current leaders are generally trying to convince regulators that they don't need to be broken up.
Weill says the change is necessary if U.S. banks want to rebuild trust and remain on top of the world financial system. Investment banks offer riskier but potentially more profitable services like trading stocks. Consumer banks offer plain-vanilla services like making loans and taking deposits.
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