March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., once the world’s biggest bank by market value, dropped below $1 in New York trading for the first time as investors lose confidence the shares can recover after more than $37.5 billion in losses and a government rescue.

Citigroup fell as low as 97 cents in New York Stock Exchange composite trading before closing at $1.02, marking an 85 percent decline this year and giving the New York-based company a market value of $5.7 billion. At its peak in late 2006, Citigroup stock was worth $55.70, for a market value of $277.2 billion.

Citigroup, run by Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, is now the 184th biggest bank by market value, behind Malaysia’s Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd and Turkey’s Akbank TAS, in which Citigroup owns a 20 percent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“You can finally buy Citigroup shares at the dollar store,” said Diane Garnick, who helps oversee $354 billion as an investment strategist at Invesco Ltd. in New York. “The banking industry is about to enter the era of entrepreneurship as the umbrella model fails and companies will position themselves to focus on one niche.”

Citigroup has reported more than $37.5 billion in net losses during the last five quarters and the U.S. government has provided the company with $45 billion. Last week, the government agreed to convert some of the preferred stock it owned in Citigroup to common shares, gaining a 36 percent stake in the company and boosting Citigroup’s buffer against future losses.

Delisting Rule

NYSE Euronext, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, has suspended until June 30 a rule that delisted companies trading below $1 after six months. The change was made to help prevent a wave of delistings after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell to a 12-year low.

Citigroup is the smallest company and the worst-performing stock in the 30-member Dow Jones Industrial Average, the U.S. stock index that has fallen 25 percent this year.

“Citi trading below $1 shows you how extreme the crisis has become,” said Scott Minerd, who helps oversee about $30 billion as chief investment officer at Guggenheim Partners Asset Management in Santa Monica, California.

Citigroup was created by the 1998 combination of Citicorp and Travelers Group Inc., which with a value of $85 billion was the largest merger in history at the time. The transaction helped persuade the U.S. government to repeal a Great Depression-era law, the Glass-Steagall Act, that prohibited banks that took consumer deposits from engaging in investment-banking activities.

To contact the reporters on this story: Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net; Jeff Kearns in New York at jkearns3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 5, 2009 16:23 EST