Vikram Pandit, chief executive of Citigroup, which accepted a $326bn (€251bn) rescue package in government loans and guarantees at the weekend told a US broadcaster in an interview last night that the bank's emphasis on trading was in part to blame for its troubles.

In an hour long interview with PBS's Charlie Rose, Pandit spoke of the bank's over-concentration in real estate assets and an emphasis on trading, which have led to billions of dollars in writedowns and several rounds of capital raising.