Citigroup (C) said it lost $1.6bn, or $0.80 per share in 2009, capped off by a $7.6bn, $0.33 per share, loss in Q409. Citigroup repaid $6.2bn of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds during Q409, exiting its loss-sharing agreement with the federal government. Excluding the TARP payment, Citigroup would have lost $1.4bn, or $0.06 per share, in Q409. “It was our responsibility to get our own house in order,” said Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit. “We greatly improved Citi’s capital strength, reduced the size and scope of the company, and refocused our business strategy to take advantage of our unmatched global network.” Citi completed approximately 130,000 mortgage loan modifications during 2009 and created more than 119,000 trial modifications under the Making Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and its own in-house modification program. Net credit losses to Citigroup’s North America residential real estate lending was down 7% quarter-over-quarter to $2.1bn, due to lower losses on second mortgages. Q409 operating expenses were $3.3bn, up 2% from Q309, due primarily to higher repositioning costs and increased collections expenses in US mortgages. Write to Austin Kilgore. The author holds no relevant investment positions.