Top Firm Has Topsy-Turvy Trading Time

The Wall Street Journal says that Citigroup disclosed in its annual report filed last week that its traders had lost over $100m on no less than 15 separate days last year.

But, before we all have another pop at Citi, a firm spokesperson also said in a statement Monday that the losses 'highlights the volatility that existed in the markets in 2007'. Citi also said that 'There were many days when we saw significant (trading) gains, including more than 55 where revenue gains exceeded $100m'. Our own Highly Placed Professional states: 'The reality is that these trading losses are nothing more than rounding errors in the great scheme of things. Citi has more fundamental issues to worry about at the moment. Trading losses like this make good headlines, but are not significant - especially given the volatility in the markets we witnessed last year'.

In the meantime, some Citi investors are said to have sore that CEO Vikram Pandit hasn't yet given them any face-time since his appointment in December. According to the newspaper, some investors are annoyed that Pandit is hosting a private 'meet and greet' cocktail hour for analysts Tuesday evening, but hasn't bothered to attempt to woo them yet.

Finally, Bloomberg reports that Justin Paperny, a former broker at UBS, has got 18 months in clink for his part in helping Keith Gilabert, who ran hedge fund GLT Venture Fund, scam investors out of some $6m. Paperny, 32, pleaded guilty last year to taking kickbacks from the hedge fund manager and lying to investors as he persuaded them to place money in the fund.