Online brokerage E*Trade Financial Corp , which has been pounded by credit woes in the mortgage business, said on Thursday that it was getting a $2.55 billion cash infusion from Citadel Investment Group.

The agreement includes immediate funding of about $2.4 billion and rids the company of its $3 billion asset-backed securities portfolio.

New York-based E*Trade also named Chief Operating Officer Jarrett Lilien as acting chief executive. He replaces Mitchell Caplan, who has stepped down.