If the US government assumes greater control over US bank Citigroup or automaker General Motors, that might “trigger” their removal from the Dow index, the Dow Jones Indexes said yesterday.

John Prestbo, editor and executive director of the DJ Indexes, which selects the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average, said he tracks both companies “every day to see what the status is.”

Should either stock be removed, “everything is on the table basically in terms of replacements,” Prestbo said.