My Money And Arab Investments

We are in the process of switching all our accounts, corporate and personal, from Wells Fargo to Citibank, the result of some mighty poor customer service from Wells Fargo following about 15 years of giving them our money to play with.

So imagine my thrill when I read this:

Citigroup Inc., seeking to restore investor confidence amid massive losses due in credit markets and a lack of permanent leadership, is receiving a $7.5 billion capital infusion from the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government.

The investment by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will help rebuild Citigroup's capital levels, which have been eroded by a credit crunch that began in the summer. ....

As a result of the deal, the investment authority known as ADIA will become one of Citigroup's largest shareholders, with a stake of no more than 4.9%. The stake will exceed that of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, long known as one of Citigroup's largest shareholders, according to a person familiar with the situation. (WSJ)

So the new investment along with bin Talal's longstanding stake, means my bank may be up to 10 percent Arab owned.

Actually, that makes me feel pretty good. As noted below, Koran Kraziness is a pretty sick disease, but here we see some mighty big Muslim dudes heavily investing in an entity that makes most of its money by charging interest, in defiance of said Book That Shall Not Be Flushed.

Either we'll see the board of ADIA and bin Talal bend over to get their 40 lashes, or we'll see a force for moderation within Islam. Neither would upset me much.