Citigroup, JPMorgan Should Split? Why Breaking Up Is Hard

Citigroup, JPMorgan Should Split? Why Breaking Up Is Hard – By Karen Petrou, Federal Financial Analytics, Inc.

A report earlier this week from KBW reignited the big-bank break-up buzz last fired up when Goldman took on JPMorgan’s structure and sought to split it asunder.  As I read the latest analysis – which argues that Citigroup  would be worth fifty percent more in pieces – it reminded me a lot of girlhood games.  These often started with hypotheses along the lines of “Now, I’m a mermaid,” after which all went swimmingly.  To assume that a bank is more valuable in pieces than as, at least for Citi, a still-struggling whole, requires not just laying out the “what if,” but also suggesting that the “how...