Citigroup repaying $20B in U.S. aid

Citigroup said Monday it will repay about $20 billion US of the bailout funding the New York-based bank received from the U.S. government.

Citigroup got about $45 billion US in backing under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) as it struggled during the credit crunch.

However, the other $25 billion US was converted into a 34 per cent ownership stake in the bank earlier this year.

The U.S. government wants to sell out its stake in the bank within the next year.

U.S. banks that received TARP funding have moved quickly to pay it back because the funding came with strict limitations on executive pay and dividends.

News of the payout came one day after U.S. President Barack Obama railed against bankers looking to get large bonuses after their companies were propped up with government loans.

"I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fatcat bankers on Wall Street," Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday on 60 Minutes.

"The only ones that will be paying out the fat bonuses are the ones that have paid back that TARP money," he said.

Also on Monday, Obama was to meet at the White House with some top executives from the financial industry.

They were to talk about the economic recovery, small business lending, lending practices for homeowners and the U.S. government's plans for financial reform.

Obama was to issue statement on the economy following that meeting.