Throughout a long, public career, Robert E. Rubin spanned the highest reaches of Wall Street and Washington, and succeeded wherever he went.
Now, he may be facing his most difficult challenge - helping to revive Citigroup, the banking giant built by financier Sanford I. Weill that is in disarray, buffeted by steep losses tied to mortgage loans and management turmoil.
The troubles at Citigroup, "the House that Sandy Built," have become so deep that Charles O. Prince III resigned yesterday as chairman and chief executive. Rubin, who was recruited to the bank in 1999 as an adviser to Weill, was named chairman while the board begins a search for a chief executive.
At an emergency meeting yesterday, directors named Winfried F.W. Bischoff, the head of Citigroup Europe, as interim chief.
The extent of Citigroup's problems also became clearer. The bank said that it would take an additional $8 billion to $11 billion write-down, on top of the $5.9 billion taken in early October.
That Rubin was named chairman, and not interim chairman, suggested a degree of urgency. To attract a strong candidate, turning over both titles is probably necessary. "He wants to find somebody as chairman and CEO so he can step down," said a person briefed on the situation.
In an interview yesterday, Rubin remained firm that the bank's international and internal growth strategy would not change. But while Bischoff, 66, who has been with Citigroup since it acquired Schroders, the British investment bank in 2000, acknowledged he was a stabilizer, he left open the possibility of changes later.
"That may be for the future," he said. "That is for a new CEO for the future."
Citigroup's board also formed a four-member search committee, led by Richard D. Parson, to begin what it called an expeditious process to identify a permanent chief executive. Bischoff said he was not a candidate for the post.
At stake in the process is the future of Citigroup as a financial supermarket, the legacy of Weill's vision, and the reputation of Rubin as an executive with a Midas touch.
The company, which already was partially dismantled during Prince's tenure, may have to shrink further to a more manageable size under its new leadership, according to analysts and people briefed on the situation.
The problems that the bank faces go far beyond a stock price that has fallen about 20 percent since Oct. 1, when the bank said that third-quarter earnings dropped 57 percent. There are risk management issues at its investment bank; souring mortgage and credit card loans in its consumer division; and across the company, bloated costs and a shortage of talented managers.
Yesterday, Citigroup turned to two of its elder statesman and surest hands to guide them through this turbulent period. Bischoff is both respected and trusted by Citigroup's senior managers.
And Rubin, whose career includes a stint as cochairman of Goldman Sachs and a celebrated run as Treasury secretary, has plenty of experience navigating crises.
