SIFMA 2011 Annual Meeting: Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup

Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup, kicks off the SIFMA Annual Meeting as the first featured speaker. He explains Citi's approach to responsible finance, saying, "we understand very well that banking had to go back to its root mission, which is to serve our clients. Banking has to be a means to an end, not an end in itself... We went back to the basics of banking." However, Mr. Pandit continues by warning, regulators cannot afford to focus on only one kind of institution -- banks -- to regulate in an interconnected world. Shadow banking accounts for 50% of all banking in China, for instance. Mr. Pandit advises the process of deleveraging in the West will take many years and that markets in the near-term will focus on how policymakers are handling the crisis and how they work together. "Markets and market confidence move a lot faster than policymakers," he says. "Depending on what you hear, the markets can be enormously different the next day." Markets are waiting for a credible plan out of Washington later this month; "everything has to be on the table" including entitlements and tax reform.

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Nonprofits & Activism

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• SIFMA
• Annual Meeting
• Citigroup