The eye of Hurricane Earl passed by the Caribbean island of Anguilla on Tuesday, blowing roofs off buildings and damaging phone and power lines. But for Citigroup, far more damage was done on the tiny British territory by the storm ravaging the real estate industry.

In 2006, Citigroup originated a big construction loan for a Viceroy resort described by developer Kor Hotel Group as "an exquisite rendition of the residential resort concept" on Anguilla. Four years later, after construction delays and cost overruns, Citigroup is getting out of this corner of the Caribbean at a huge loss.