Citigroup's poor stock performance - the bank's shares have fallen more than 30 per cent this year and are trading at their lowest level since April 2003 - has left many investors urging the ouster of Chief Executive Chuck Prince.

The agenda for the weekend board meeting was not immediately clear, but removing Mr Chuck Prince or taking write-downs may come up, Dow Jones said on Friday.

If Mr Prince is ousted, Citi director Robert Rubin is being considered as an interim replacement, but he is reluctant to take the responsibility, Dow Jones said.

'You can imagine the pressure they're feeling from the market's reaction to negative news and their continuing inability to reassure the market,' said Mr Thomas Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which invests more than US$3 billion (S$4.3 billion) and owns Citi shares.

Mr Michael Hanretta, a spokesman for Citi, declined to comment.

Citigroup said on Oct 15 that third-quarter profit slid 57 per cent as losses mounted in areas including subprime mortgages and corporate loans to junk-rated companies.

Those results included US$6.5 billion of pretax losses and write-downs in subprime mortgage bonds and other assets.

Write-downs combined with some US$25 billion of acquisitions over the last year have left Citigroup's capital levels relatively low.

Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden said on a conference call after the earnings that the bank was halting share buybacks to rebuild capital.

CIBC World Markets analyst Meredith Whitney on Thursday said Citi may need to raise more capital through measures, including dividend cuts and assets sales. Citi's shares dropped 8 per cent on Thursday and another 2 per cent on Friday, closing at US$37.73 on the New York Stock Exchange.

In after-hours trading on Friday, Citi shares rose 1.9 per cent to US$38.45. -- REUTERS