Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said he expects the No. 3 U.S. bank to rebound from its current woes and pledged that it would repay every dollar it owes to the U.S. government.

Pandit commented on the bank's prospects on Tuesday at the annual shareholders' meeting, which came just days after the bank posted a $1.59 billion first-quarter profit before payments of preferred dividends to the U.S. Treasury.

I intend to see this through, Pandit told shareholders. The Financial Times newspaper reported that senior Federal Deposit Insurance Corp officials had privately discussed who might replace Pandit if the bank needed more government aid.

At the meeting, Citigroup shareholders are expected to vote on whether to install four new directors, including former U.S. Bancorp Chief Executive Jerry Grundhofer.

They are also expected to decide whether to reappoint some existing directors who were responsible for oversight as the bank's troubles mushroomed.

Earlier this month, shareholder advisory firm RiskMetrics Group Inc and the influential pension fund California Public Employees Retirement System said they opposed votes in favor of re-electing to the board C. Michael Armstrong, John Deutch and Alain Belda. Armstrong and Deutch are audit committee members, and Belda is a former lead director.

Citigroup shares were up 22 cents, or 7.5 percent, at $3.16 in late-morning trading, outperforming the KBW Banks index <.BKX>, which was up 2.7 percent.

(Reporting by Dan Wilchins and Jonathan Stempel; editing by John Wallace)

Citigroup U.S. Bancorp Vikram pandit