The Treasury Department said Monday it was moving closer to unloading its entire stake in Citigroup, but offered little insight into the timing of the sale.

The U.S. government owns approximately 7.7 billion shares, or about a 27% stake in the New York City-based bank. A Citigroup spokesman declined to comment on the Treasury announcement.

The government officially acquired a controlling interest in Citigroup after pumping $45 billion into the banking giant in the months following the collapse of Lehman Brothers through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

The government subsequently converted a portion of its preferred shares into common stock last summer, giving Treasury control over as much as a third of Citi's outstanding shares.

The government said Monday it could not provide any information on the timing of the sale of Citi shares, adding only that it would take place this year "in an orderly and measured fashion" and that it would be subject to the health of the market.

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