It is good to be too big to fail.

Citigroup executives have arranged a deal whereby the U.S government will guarantee $306 billion of troubled mortgages and other assets. Citigroup will also get an additional $20 billion of cash from the U.S Treasury. In return for the guarantees, the US government/US taxpayer will receive $27 billion of preferred shares paying an 8% dividend. Said another way, our government will guarantee any losses on more than $300 billion of Citi’s troubled assets, and will make a fresh $20 billion investment in the bank.