Shares of Citigroup have dropped as low as 98 cents a share, and were lately at 99 cents, an all-time low for the stock, as banks continue to get hammered in the wake of warnings of more ratings downgrades on banks and expectations that the government, one way or another, will have to put a large institution in receivership when it goes through its round of stress tests to determine the financial health of the nation's banks.

Citi's drop mirrors a decline in other iconic American companies, including General Motors, which...