Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank by assets, is not just eliminating jobs to slash costs — it's also clamping down on color copying and BlackBerrys.
In a recent memo to Citigroup employees detailing new efforts to trim expenses, John Havens — who runs the company's institutional clients group — wrote that "color copying and printing should only be used for client presentations," and that "presentations should be printed double-sided to reduce unnecessary paper usage."
Additionally, the bank is reviewing employees' BlackBerry use, and is now requiring pre-approval for the devices.
"Only necessary business related calls will be reimbursed," the memo said.
The memo, dated Aug. 15, also said that Citigroup will no longer hold meetings outside its own facilities for internal purposes, and that it is limiting external training and the use of management consultants, among other resources.
The moves are yet another step in the bank's attempt to become profitable again after three straight quarters of losses. Citigroup has already eliminated more than 14,000 jobs this year and raised about $40 billion in capital after losing a cumulative $17.4 billion during the last quarter of 2007 and the first two quarters of this year.
The bank has been selling off its assets as well. During the second quarter, Citi lopped off $99 billion from its total assets, which stood at $2.02 trillion as of June 30. In May, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit announced that the bank would reduce its balance sheet by about $400 billion to $500 billion over the next few years.
Analysts are split over whether Citigroup will post a profit for the third quarter, but on average, they expect a profit of 3 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.
