Bove Thinks Citi's (C) Pandit is Wrong

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In a recent Financial Times op-ed, Citigroup (NYSE: C) CEO Vikram Pandit suggested financial institutions need a new way to be compared on an "apples to apples" basis.

Rochdale Securities' Dick Bove, however, thinks that's a mistake. On a Bloomberg radio interview Wednesday, Bove said analysts already have "risk-weighted assets indicated every quarter..." meaning they're already complying with what Pandit is expecting.

Bove also noted it didn't make sense to flat-line everything in an industry run on risk (emphasis ours).

Pandit is proposing something of a benchmark, in that financial firms report what they're holding, and those numbers are measured against a "common frame of reference."

Of course, Bove puts it best: "What he’s driving for is a uniform system that would constrain everyone who’s in the financial market. He wants a whole new layer of accounting to be put on top of the accounting that is already in the industry, and the accounting in the industry right now is among the worst anywhere in the world" (emphasis ours, again.) Instead, Bove thinks banks should return to a free-market system, instead of a "planned" financial system, which is where its headed currently.

Citi shares are up 4 percent Wednesday.

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