Where Pandit Is Taking Citi

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit has made up his mind: The world's largest bank will remain intact. After months of speculation, the new chief has rejected calls for a breakup. "You couldn't design a better footprint or get a better set of assets if you had to build a bank from scratch," Pandit told . "This is clearly the right model."

Pandit's ringing endorsement of an all-in-one financial-services company may test the patience of weary investors, who worry that Citi (C) is too big to manage or grow. Citi's first-quarter profits, which will be announced on Apr. 18, won't quell those concerns: The bank faces billions of dollars in additional writedowns from the mortgage mess. "Let's be clear, the earnings report is going to be ugly," says William T. Fitzpatrick, an equity analyst at Optique Capital Management. "The numbers are anybody's guess."