Citadel Forced To Deny Collapse Rumors, Again

Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Author: FINalternatives.com

For the second time in as many weeks, Citadel Investment Group has been forced to deny rumors that it is in serious trouble.

The hedge fund giant, whose flagship fund is down almost 40% this year, denied a Wall Street Journal report that banks were demanding increased collateral as its losses mounted. Gerald Beeson, the firm’s chief operating officer, said Friday that it was meeting its daily collateral requirements with Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and others without being forced to sell its assets to cover the margin calls.

“We will continue to have sufficient capacity to meet our funding needs over the course of the short and medium term,” he said.

In a report published Friday, the Journal wrote that Citadel “is being asked by several major banks to post additional collateral to cover big losses on its investments.”

Last month, Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin sought to squelch rumors that the firm was on the brink of collapse, and had called in the Federal Reserve and U.K. Financial Services Authority to discuss how to handle the implosion of the $16 billion firm.