Citigroup cuts dividend, and is raising $14.5 bln

Citigroup Inc on Tuesday cut its quarterly dividend 41 percent, and said it is raising $14.5 billion from offerings of convertible preferred securities.

The bank also posted its first quarterly loss since its creation in 1998, hurt by $18.1 billion of write-downs for exposure to subprime mortgages and other risky debt. The net loss for the largest U.S. bank totaled $9.83 billion, or $1.99 per share.

Citigroup reduced its quarterly dividend to 32 cents per share from 54 cents.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Derek Caney)