RENEE MONTAGNE, host: And the United States government says it's getting out of the banking business. The Treasury Department said, yesterday, it plans to sell billions of Citigroup shares it bought during the financial crisis.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: NPR's Tamara Keith reports.</s>TAMARA KEITH: Thanks to the financial crisis, the U.S. Treasury owns about 27 percent of Citigroup's common shares. But it's not like the government can sell them off all at once.</s>Mr. PAUL MILLER (Managing director, FBR Capital Markets): It put a lot of pressure on the stock.</s>TAMARA KEITH: Paul Miller is managing director at FBR Capital Markets. He expects it will take Treasury about a year to sell its Citi stock, a little bit at a time.</s>Mr. PAUL MILLER (Managing director, FBR Capital Markets): This is the best way to leak it out, and if the market can maintain its levels, you can get out of it at roughly four bucks, maybe a little bit below four bucks, which it'd be, you know, a big profit for the government.</s>TAMARA KEITH: The government got its Citi stock at $3.25 a share. So multiply the difference by 7.7 billion and...</s>Ms. KAREN SHAW PETROU (Managing partner, Federal Financial Analytics): It would be an amount you would notice in your checkbook.</s>TAMARA KEITH: Karen Shaw Petrou is managing partner at Federal Financial Analytics. She says Treasury isn't like your typical investor looking to maximize returns.</s>Ms. KAREN SHAW PETROU (Managing partner, Federal Financial Analytics): Treasury wants to get a decent return for the taxpayer, but its primary goal is to get out, and that should be its primary goal.</s>TAMARA KEITH: Of course, returning a little extra money to the taxpayers doesnt hurt either.</s>TAMARA KEITH: Tamara Keith, NPR News, Washington.
The Treasury Department announced Monday it will sell its stake in Citigroup — 7.7 billion common shares. The government bought the shares during the height of the financial crisis. Barring a collapse in Citigroup's stock price, the government could profit more than $8 billion.