Financial advice from Citi’s Chuck Prince? Xerox will take it

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Citigroup Inc.’s shareholders have nothing but losses to show for Chuck Prince’s four-year tenure as CEO of the financial giant.

Now he gets a chance to give advice to Xerox Corp.’s CEO, Anne Mulcahy: Xerox’s directors today elected Prince to join them on the copier company’s board.

It just goes to show that even when CEOs fail massively, they rarely get kicked out of the club.

Prince was ousted from Citi in November as the bank began to reel from losses on high-risk bonds. Citi had loaded up on subprime-mortgage-related debt on Prince’s watch, and it’s still sinking under the weight of its bad bets: Analysts expect the company in the second quarter to record its third straight quarterly loss.

Citi’s shares today closed at $16.28, their lowest in nearly 10 years. The price has been cut in half since Prince was booted.

Xerox, in announcing Prince’s board seat today, noted that he “was appointed CEO of Citigroup in 2003 and remained in this position until his retirement in 2007.” Ah, yes, retirement -- at the ripe old age of 57.

Mulcahy, in a statement, hailed Prince as a “visionary leader” with “unique talent and exceptional business experience.”

You can read that any way you want.

Xerox’s shares fell 2 cents to $13.16 today before the announcement. They’re down almost 19% this year.