The big business news today is the departure of Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit. CNBC went into high gear when the news came via a press release just after 8am.
Jim Cramer, in the 10am hour of “Squawk on the Street” reported what sources told him: “From a very high level source, he was forced out last night. Board didn’t want him anymore. Board felt that he had done everything that they’d wanted him to do. He was forced out, is my understanding.”
But two hours later, Maria Bartiromo called in to “Power Lunch” to report on a conversation she’d just had with Pandit. And, naturally, his reasoning is different:
“First of all, he’s saying this was his decision,” Bartiromo said. “He said it was time after five years of accomplishing what he set out to do. He said he’s been thinking about this for some time and the board was always ready for this eventuality.”
Two of CNBC’s biggest personalities, reporting two very different versions of the same story.