Citigroup has warned clients that Theresa May’s position as prime minister is “unsustainable”, warning them to prepare for the government to collapse within a matter of months.
The multinational banking corporation believes the parliamentary majority which the prime minister secured through her deal with Ulster’s Democratic Unionist Party is “not comfortable enough for crunch votes”, according to a report in The Times.
“In our view, May’s premiership is not sustainable beyond a few months, perhaps a year at most, and will be under pressure in the face of contentious parliamentary votes from the very beginning,” they said.
Highlighting the “numerous opportunities for parliamentary rebellion” over Brexit, they suggested there could be a “harsh backlash” from what it describes as “the anti-EU British media” if her government gives way on items such as the 100-billion euro settlement demand.
Headquartered in New York, Citigroup backed Brussels to the hilt during Britain’s referendum on membership of the European Union, following fellow banking giants Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley in donating six-figure sums of money to the official Remain campaign.
The group has also been mired in a number of controversies recently. In May 2017, it agreed to pay $97.4 million (£75 million) to settle a money-laundering inquiry in the U.S.
In February 2017, it was fined 69.5 million rand (£4 million) by the South African competition commission for allegedly colluding with other banks to manipulate the money markets.
And in January 2017, it was fined $28.8 million (£22.2 million) after their “subsidiaries gave the runaround to borrowers who were already struggling with their mortgage payments and trying to save their homes”, burdening them with “dozens of documents and forms that had no bearing” on their cases whilst they fighting to avoid foreclosure.
The other big banks which backed the Remain campaign have also run into trouble on a number of occasions. To cite a few examples:
Goldman Sachs was subjected to a colossal $5.06 billion (£3.9 billion) settlement following allegations that it sold faulty mortgages during the financial crisis.
JP Morgan paid $264 million (£203.4 million) to settle claims it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by hiring relatives of government officials and businessmen overseas in order to win contracts.
And Morgan Stanley was fined $7.5 million (£5.8 million) for using customers’ money to lower their own borrowing costs.
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