Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit sat with Charlie Rose last week and explained to the talk-show personality how and why his company’s stock fell below $5 for the first time since 1994.

It was, if nothing else, a congenial question-and-answer session.

Frankly, it would’ve been a lot more enlightening, not to mention entertaining, had Pandit and his Ph.D. in finance from Columbia University faced a few hardballs from Queens, New York’s Danny Sessa, whose blue-collar common sense more than makes up for whatever he lacks in formal education.

“The whole thing’s freakin’ absurd,” says the 50-year-old Sessa, who helped build Citi Field.

Full disclosure: Danny’s sister, Danielle, is a sportswriter for Bloomberg, which seems appropriate when you consider that this is about banks, bailouts, bewilderment and baseball.

Simply mentioning Citigroup and its plan to spend $20 million a year to put its name on a baseball stadium sent Danny’s New York accent up a few decibels.

He just doesn’t understand how the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, which is receiving government money and laying off employees, can in good conscience forge ahead with its $400 million naming-rights contract for the new ballpark being erected for the Mets.

Sessa isn’t the only one flummoxed.

Claiming a Stake

Two New York City Council members say that Citigroup, which is getting billions of dollars in federal aid, should share the spoils of taxpayer spending. Staten Island Republicans Vincent Ignizio and James Oddo want the ballpark named Citi/Taxpayer Field.

Sessa always figured to have an equity stake in the $800 million ballpark, which is scheduled to open next season. He just figured it would be sweat equity, not the real thing.

Sessa is a member of Local 45, a carpenters’ union that’s helping to build Citi Field. He became something of a celebrity last season by occasionally appearing on SNY, the Mets-owned television station, to provide fans with a stadium progress report.

“When does it end?” asked Danny, whose appeal lies in his everyman persona. “It’s got to come to an end.”

To demonstrate why it must end, let’s go back to the beginning.

Citigroup and the Mets announced their supposedly symbiotic relationship on Nov. 13, 2007, at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the new stadium.

Do-Gooders

“A long-term, multifaceted strategic partnership,” is what Mets owner Fred Wilpon called it.

Also there was Lewis Kaden, vice chairman for Citigroup. Kaden said he was looking forward to manager Willie Randolph producing a World Series win. Hey, things change.

Particularly noteworthy that day was something Wilpon said while talking about the philosophy of his companies, including the Mets. It goes something like this: Doing well while doing good in our communities.

“The better we do, the more we can give,” Wilpon said. “I’m proud to be a partner with a company that shares our values.”

Citigroup was doing well at the time. The naming-rights agreement was easily rationalized. Now the bank is talking about cutting 52,000 jobs over the next year and your money is being used to help keep the bank afloat.

Here’s a question for Wilpon: Why, other than the money, would the Mets want to be associated with the Citi brand nowadays? Why mingle the optimism that accompanies a new season and a new building with what is, essentially, a failed company?

Write a Check

I asked Steve Greenberg, the Allen & Co. managing director who helped the Mets negotiate the naming-rights agreement, how much the team could get in today’s economic climate. He said there’s no way of knowing. Don Hinchey of the Denver-based Bonham Group, which specializes in such contracts, summed it up this way: “Less than they got before,” he said.

Kaden said at the groundbreaking that Citigroup’s affiliation with the Mets would provide the company with promotional and investment opportunities in sports and entertainment around the world, including China, Japan, Korea and Latin America.

We’ll see.

Here’s a suggestion that would give the bank time to improve its financial footing without abandoning the Mets or the agreement.

According to Citigroup’s proxy statement, Pandit has a quarter-billion-dollar pay package, $162 million of which is already in his wallet -- much of it from the sale of his Old Lane Partners hedge fund to Citi.

Let Pandit cut a personal check, $20 million a year, until the bank has made restitution to taxpayers. He can put in for reimbursement. Until he’s repaid, the stadium would be called Pandit Park.

Odds of it happening?

To quote Danny Sessa -- fuhgetaboudit!

(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 2, 2008 00:03 EST