Citigroup hires Richard F Hohlt: Report

Citigroup,however,is likely to come under flak because of the said appointment of Hohlt,who as a top lobbyist for the savings and loan industry in the 1980s,blocked regulation of these institutions and played a pivotal role helping to prolong dubious industry practices.

Five former regulators,who encountered Hohlt during the savings and loan fiasco,expressed dismay and surprise that he had been hired by a bank that has received tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer assistance,and voiced concerns about what exactly he had been hired to do,the New York Times said.

Quoting former regulator William K Black,the report said,8221;It is singularly obscene that any recipient of taxpayer assistance through the TARP programme during the current financial crisis would hire one of the most infamous lobbyists in the world to represent them.8221;

Parsons,in an interview,said he hired Hohlt simply as a political adviser who provides information and counsel,and does not focus on particular legislation. 8220;I hired him to keep me in touch with what8217;s going on in Washington and what the mood and tenor of the town is.8221;