Citi chairman plans to step down

WASHINGTON: Citigroup chairman Richard Parsons, who helped steer the bank through the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, is considering stepping down after three years in the post, The Wall Street Journal reported late Sunday.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the situation, the newspaper said Parsons was expected to make his decision by early March.

Parsons became Citigroup's chairman in 2009.

Bad mortgages and other questionable financial decisions nearly led to Citigroup's collapse in 2008 and forced the bank to accept tens of billions of dollars in US aid.

But in 2011, Citigroup had a profit of $11.3 billion, The Journal noted.