Citigroup (NYSE:C) CEO Pandit Admits Shareholders Must Wait

Citigroup (NYSE:C) CEO Vikram Pandit admitted today that shareholders in the company will probably have to wait at least another year before they see dividend increases or purchasing shares by the company.

Pandit said it probably won't be until 2012 before those actions are taken.

"We've been very clear we think 2012 is the year to look forward to. It's important...that we meet all the Basel (capital requirements) and we meet them in full force, and use that as a platform to start returning capital to our shareholders," said Pandit to CNBC.

"While we think the markets are increasingly recognizing who we are, we've got some ways to go," he added.

Global economic conditions will determine the time-frame, as Pandit noted, "The housing market usually takes a little bit longer and that is not only today's phenomena, that's been true whenever there have been housing cycles. The key, key indicator for us is to watch how businesses do, how they grow, how they invest, and that is going to create jobs."

Citigroup was trading at $4.6150, up $0.0250, or 0.54 percent, as of 1:29 PM EST.