急于擺脫“接受政府監護”屈辱名聲的花旗集團（Citigroup）正在研究制定一項計劃，以降低美國政府所持公司34%的股份。

　　據知情人士透露，花旗高管一直在商議制定計劃，可能發股籌資數十億美元；按照這一計劃，花旗將向公眾發行新股，而美國財政部將至少出售部分花旗股份。

　　知情人士稱，討論仍處于初步階段。花旗尚未正式向財政部提出這一想法，但高管們預計很快就會這么做。據一位知情人士稱，花旗高管已經與聯邦銀行監管部門討論了他們的計劃。

　　美國財政部上周獲得了花旗77億股普通股。財政部通過轉換一部分所持的花旗優先股獲得了這些股份。此前，政府向花旗注資450億美元獲得了這些優先股。優先股轉普通股的轉換方案是在春季達成的，當時市場不斷質疑花旗的資本充足率。

　　花旗計劃開始減少政府持股反映出華爾街正迅速走出金融危機最糟糕的時刻。這個問題可能還將初步試探出奧巴馬政府將如何在各種想法之間達到平衡；奧巴馬政府希望開始逐步結束政府對金融體系的廣泛干預舉措，但同時市場對銀行業整體，尤其是花旗集團健康狀況的擔憂情緒揮之不去。

　　雖然花旗集團過去兩個季度實現了凈收益，但該行仍在苦苦應對不斷增長的貸款違約，并仍然持有數百億美元難以出手以及高風險的資產。

　　甚至在財政部通過轉換獲得花旗股份之前，花旗高管就在考慮如何減少政府持股了。暫定的計劃是花旗和政府共同出售股份。知情人士稱，按照這一計劃，花旗將發售至多50億美元的新股，而政府也將同時出售金額未定的花旗股份。

　　花旗高管希望，最快能在第四季度實施這一發股計劃。知情人士透露，花旗可能會將售股所得用來贖回部分財政部所持的優先股。花旗高管表示，只有財政部也同意出售股份，公司才會發售股份。

　　花旗集團和美國財政部拒絕對此置評。

　　如果美國政府出售部分花旗股份，那么納稅人將獲得投資回報。美國政府是以每股3.25美元的價格將所持的花旗優先股轉化為普通股的。花旗股價周一收盤報4.52美元。這意味著美國政府所持的77億股股份升值了大約98億美元。

　　Citigroup Inc.， eager to shed the stigma of being a ward of the state， is working on a plan to reduce the U.S. government's 34% stake.

　　Top Citigroup executives have been devising plans for a possible multibillion-dollar stock offering in which the New York company would issue new shares to the public， while the Treasury Department would sell at least a portion of its Citigroup holdings， according to people familiar with the matter.

　　The discussions remain preliminary， the people said. Citigroup hasn't yet officially pitched the idea to the Treasury Department， but executives expect to do so soon. Citigroup officials already have discussed their plans with federal banking regulators， said one person familiar with the matter.

　　The Treasury Department acquired 7.7 billion shares of Citigroup stock last week. The federal government got that stake in return for a chunk of its holdings of Citigroup preferred shares， which the Treasury received when it pumped $45 billion into Citigroup. The preferred-for-common conversion was agreed to last spring as doubts swirled about the adequacy of Citigroup's capital.

　　Citigroup's expected request to start trimming the government stake reflects Wall Street's rapid rebound from the dark days of the financial crisis. It also could prove an early test of how the Obama administration balances its desire to start winding down the government's vast interventions into the financial system against continued concerns about the health of the banking industry in general and Citigroup in particular.

　　While Citigroup has reported net income for the last two quarters， the company still is struggling with swelling loan defaults and continues to hold tens of billions of dollars of unwanted and risky assets.

　　Even before the Treasury Department got the Citigroup shares， executives were examining how to shrink the government's stake. The tentative aim is for a joint stock sale. Under this scenario， Citigroup would issue as much as $5 billion in new shares， while the government would simultaneously sell an undetermined amount of the stock it is holding， the people said.

　　Executives hope such an offering could take place as soon as the fourth quarter. Citigroup could use proceeds from a stock sale to redeem some of the preferred stock the Treasury is holding， the people said. Executives say the company would launch a stock offering only if the Treasury agrees to also sell shares.

　　Citigroup and the Treasury declined to comment.

　　If the U.S. does sell some of its Citigroup shares， taxpayers could get a profit. The government converted its preferred shares into common stock at $3.25 a share. Citigroup's shares closed Monday at $4.52. That means the government's 7.7 billion shares have gained about $9.8 billion.