Global, Citigroup Records Sought

Stepping up its investigation into links between a key Wall Street analyst and telecommunications companies, a congressional panel on Wednesday asked Global Crossing Ltd. and Citigroup Inc. to provide a long list of records and correspondence.

Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Financial Services committee, made the request in letters to Citigroup Chairman and Chief Executive Sanford Weil and Global Crossing Chief Executive John Legere and Chairman Gary Winnick.

He asked the companies to deliver by Sept. 4 documents including minutes of board meetings, information about company stock transactions, executive loans and compensation, and correspondence between the companies.

Arda Nazerian, a spokeswoman for Citigroup, said the company “will continue to cooperate with the committee’s inquiry.” Spokeswoman Becky Yeamans said Global Crossing executives “just received the letter from Chairman Oxley and are reviewing it.”

Telecom analyst Jack Grubman, who recently resigned from Citigroup’s Salomon Smith Barney unit, had a close relationship with several telecom executives, including Winnick.

The U.S. is probing allegations that Grubman’s research was skewed to help Salomon win banking business from phone companies, and that Salomon and Grubman gave valuable shares in new public offerings to favored executives, including Winnick.