Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. director Richard D. Parsons said he backs Chief Executive Officer Vikram S. Pandit as the company's stock fell below $10 for the first time since 1996.

``I have got great confidence in him,'' Parsons said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday, referring to Pandit, who replaced Charles O. Prince as CEO last December amid record mortgage-related losses. ``He came in under the most extreme circumstances. He inherited the biggest bank in the world that's got exposure in virtually every country and every asset, so any time anything goes down, Citi has to deal with it.''

Citigroup has lost almost 70 percent of its market value this year, the worst performance in the 24-company KBW Bank Index. The New York-based firm reported net losses of more than $10 billion in the first nine months of 2008, and analysts estimate the fourth-biggest U.S. bank by market value will post a $187 million deficit in the fourth quarter, according to a survey by Bloomberg.

``The publicly available information in terms of the status of the balance sheet and earnings of the bank are as they should be,'' Parsons said in response to a question about whether the company will report more losses.

Citigroup fell 19 cents, or 2 percent, to $9.45 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4 p.m.

The outlook depends in large part on the financial markets, because the company has been conservative with how it values assets, Parsons said.

Acquisition Plan

Parsons, 60, may be a leading candidate to replace Citigroup Chairman Win Bischoff as some directors grow frustrated with the company's performance, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier today, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.

Bischoff, 67, has the ``full support'' of the bank's directors, the board said in a statement that described the Journal report as ``erroneous.'' The panel said it ``looks forward'' to Bischoff's ``continued leadership.''

``We're standing by our story,'' said Robert Christie, a spokesman for Dow Jones & Co., the owner of the Journal. Dow Jones is a unit of New York-based News Corp.

Citigroup spokesman Michael Hanretta declined to comment.

Citigroup will be ``opportunistic'' in pursuing acquisitions after losing the takeover battle last month for Wachovia Corp., said Parsons, who's chairman of Time Warner Inc. and an economic affairs adviser to Barack Obama, the U.S. president-elect. Wells Fargo & Co., the country's second-biggest bank by market value, is buying Wachovia of Charlotte, North Carolina.

`Disciplined' Approach

``We look at everything because, as the biggest player in our space, you've got to look at everything,'' Parsons said. ``Will it be true that Citi is looking at the landscape as it develops? Of course we are, it's only prudent.''

Citigroup is among the bidders for Chevy Chase Bank in Bethesda, Maryland, the Journal reported without citing sources.

Pandit, 51, wasn't outsmarted for Wachovia by his counterparts at San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, Parsons said.

``We thought that we had a handshake deal all around with the government,'' Parsons said. ``We thought we could rely on it. Turned out we were wrong.''

Pandit has been ``clear-headed, disciplined and following that No. 1 mantra: You're not going to drive this truck into the ditch,'' Parsons said. ``Keep the bank safe in the middle of the road, away from the guard rails. We've just got to motor through what's going to be a tough economic stretch.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Chia-Peck Wong in Hong Kong at cpwong@bloomberg.net; Greg Miles in New York at gmiles1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 13, 2008 16:40 EST