Government may sell some Citigroup shares

Several media reports say that Citigroup (C) is trying to find a way for the U.S. government to sell part of its 34 percent ownership in the bank.

The big financial company may have to raise money to pay the Treasury Department back. The Wall Street Journal reports that "Citigroup would issue as much as $5 billion in new shares, while the government would simultaneously sell an undetermined amount of the stock it is holding, the people said."

Depending on the price at which the government could move out of Citi, its profit could be several billion dollars.