(Citigroup Posts Surprise Profits)… ‘Sun Worldwide’ - World Finance

April 21, 2009 - PRLog -- ‘Sun Worldwide’, the Asian-based asset management firm, believes that recent changes made to mark-to-market accounting rules are more than likely responsible for Citigroup’s first profits for 5 quarters.

The stark comments were reportedly included in a ‘Sun Worldwide’ client monthly update which called the rule changes that caused the absence of the write-downs that have consistently featured in banking sector quarterly reports “mark-to-make-believe”.

‘Sun Worldwide’ remain convinced that what was once the world’s largest bank will eventually succumb to market forces and be fully nationalized by the US government. The quarterly report suggested that Citigroup had written down its subprime-mortgage-related securities and other investments by $5.6 billion against $14.1bn in the same quarter of 2008.

A source close to ‘Sun Worldwide’ suggested that this reduction in write-downs had come after mounting foreclosure activity would have forced down further the value of said securities and that the changes were perceived as the equivalent of “handing control of the fire hose over to the arsonists”.