Citi's Global Transaction Services

A unit of Citigroup called Global Transaction Services has prospered since the U.S. government has taken an ownership stake in the bank, The Wall Street Journal reports: "after the U.S. last February took a 34% stake in Citigroup (since reduced to 27%), various arms of the government repeatedly gave more business to the Citigroup unit. Since mid-2008, the amount of revenue GTS gets from the U.S. government has more than doubled, executives say....When bidding for new federal contracts, some GTS executives have cited the government's stake in Citigroup, said a person familiar with the matter. Their pitch to the government: 'You own us. Isn't it in your best interest for us to succeed?'" How are Citigroup's competitors supposed to answer that one?