MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US Treasury launches fourth sale of Citigroup common stock

Buying Citigroup shares was an excellent deal for the US government

The US Treasury Department said it has launched a fourth sale of 1.5 billion shares of Citigroup Inc common stock under a prearranged trading plan.

The Treasury received 7.7 billion Citigroup shares in exchange for 45 billion US dollars in bailout investments from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The sale, which follows the announcement of better-than-expected Citigroup third quarter earnings the previous day, will bring the US government's stake in the once-stricken banking giant down to seven percent.

Under the trading plan, Morgan Stanley has discretionary authority to sell Citi shares into the market under certain parameters.

Since it began selling down its 27% stake in the bank, the Treasury has taken in 41.6 billion in sale proceeds from the disposal of about 4.5 billion shares.