Rubin (pictured) passed himself off as an international rainmaker for Citi, roaming the world in search of deals. He also called himself a resource for senior Citi officials, who apparently chose not to confide in him about the perilous financial condition of the bank.
Rubin then downplayed the clout of the executive committee, dismissing it as window-dressing or a group to rubber-stamp decisions made by Citi’s COO when the full board was not is session. Anyway, Rubin said at the Citi stage of his professional career he didn’t want to deal with the operational headaches that he had at Goldman Sachs and the Treasury. He also noted that a trillion dollars passes through Citi every day so it’s inconceivable that directors can watch each dollar. Why exactly was Rubin hauling in the millions in Citi comp?
Prince absolved the board for "materially" contributing to Citi massive losses or "the financial crisis more generally." He said: "I personally do not think Citi was ‘too big to manage. To be sure, it was a challenge to manage."
A challenge that neither Rubin nor Prince handled very well.
Prince and Rubin danced around the issue of ultimate responsibility. At least Prince expressed sorrow to the "millions of people, average Americans, who lost their homes." he added: "And I'm sorry that our management team, starting with me, like so many others could not see the unprecedented market collapse that lay before us."
Rubin said all of Citi's management is responsible for the bank's downfall. They all were asleep at the switch.
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