Breaking up of Citigroup a potential campaign theme

Washington

AMERICA'S presidential campaign is well underway. The election is not until November 2016. Very few candidates have formally thrown their hats into the ring, but the competition to promote and develop ideas - behind closed doors and publicly - is in full swing.

In December, Citigroup took advantage of this formative political moment by seizing an opportunity to score a tactical victory - but one that amounts to a strategic blunder. Using legislative language apparently drafted by Citi's own lobbyists, the firm successfully pressed for the repeal of some of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reforms. The provision was then passed after it was attached to a last-minute spending Bill - a tactic that ensured very little debate in the House of Representatives and none in the Senate.