Okay, the figures are in and everything that was feared yesterday about the condition of Citigroup,Inc., the largest bank in the United States, has now been confirmed by the bank’s just released figures.

For the very first time since it was created in 1998, Citigroup has posted a first quarterly loss of—-ready for this?–$9.83 BILLION DOLLARS!!!!

That, by the way, is reportedly about twice what was anticipated by “experts.”

Citigroup is also cutting its quarterly dividend 41 percent.

Why is this happening?

Of course—the subprime mortgage mess. And, now,says Citigroup, it is taking a beating on consumer credit  as more and more people fall behind on their payments.

Gee,wonder why?