He "did not create the mess Citi is in, but he is the financial services equivalent of the Titanic's Edward Smith - a commander ill-equipped to save his ship," the magazine said.

"When Pandit took over, Citi was already on track to report write-downs and increased credit costs of $20 billion. Today, the banking supermarket is propped up by $45 billion in bailouts and is, in effect, owned by the US government," Conde Nast Portfolio noted.

It further noted that Pandit's current salary was $1, but his "pay package was valued at $38.2 million for 2008, a year when taxpayers kept the firm in business."