Citigroup says it regrets its controversial bond transaction at the beginning of August when it pushed through EUR11 billion of securities in two minutes over the MTS platform.
In an internal memo to corporate and investment banking employees, Citigroup's head of global capital markets, Tom Maheras, says the bank regretted the bond dealings, which prompted investigations by European regulators.
Maheras says: "We regret having executed this transaction. Unfortunately, we failed to fully consider its impact on our clients, other market participants, and our regulators."
He adds that the bank is cooperating with investigations into the transaction.
Citigroup sold EUR11bn worth of European government bonds in two minutes over the MTS platform on 2 August, before re-entering the market half an hour later and buying them back at cheaper prices.
MTS has now lifted trading restrictions it imposed on the market immediately after the sale, which limited the value and volume any one dealer can push through the system at a time.