No, that bit about dividends can't possibly be right. Relatively few public companies pay a dividend, and basically none of the other companies face shareholder lawsuits about the absence of a dividend.

And if Citi were a poorly programmed automaton then it might make sense to avoid blaming its board for politically boneheaded moves; but its board is made up of directors who _ought_ to be spending some energy not pointlessly offending a public on whose dole they now find themselves. The shareholders will be (rightly) for more offended if the board so pisses off Treasury that the public assistance dries up.

I agree, however, that the (then-) government should have negotiated (decreed?) better terms for the bailout money.