* Prince Alwaleed backs reinstatement of cash dividend
* Citigroup announced reverse stock spit, dividend in March
(Adds details, background)
RIYADH, April 9 (Reuters) – Saudi billionaire Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal said on Saturday he supports Citigroup’s
(C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reverse stock split and reinstatement of its cash
dividend.
“Citigroup has demonstrated its ability to overcome the
recent economic obstacles. I commend Citigroup’s performance,”
Alwaleed, a prominent investor in Citigroup, said in a
statement.
The nephew of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, Alwaleed is also
chairman of Kingdom Holding (4280.SE: Quote, Profile, Research).
Citigroup, the most actively traded stock in the United
States, will resume paying a normal dividend after it uses a
reverse stock split to shrink the number of shares outstanding,
it said in March. [ID:nN21282251]
The bank will pay a quarterly dividend of a penny a share,
its first payout since 2009.
It said it will reduce the number of common shares
outstanding to 2.9 billion from 29 billion through a 1-for-10
stock split.
In March Alwaleed said he expected Citigroup to post a
profit in the first quarter. [ID:nLDE7281J9]
Citigroup’s chairman said in December the bank would not pay
dividends in the near term.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
UPDATE 1-Saudi Alwaleed backs Citigroup reverse stock split
