Banking giant becomes the latest of the US’s top lenders to reveal latest financial results
Citigroup revealed better-than-expected Q4 financial results Wednesday, putting aside less money for souring loans than anticipated and posting solid adjusted earnings.
The banking giant said its adjusted revenue for the quarter was up 8% year over year, coming in at $21 billion when a one-time after-tax loss of just over $1 billion linked to its Russian operations was excluded.
Adjusted net income in Q4 was $1.81 per share, higher than the average of $1.65 expected by analysts as a bump in services revenue (by 15%) fueled growth.
Provisions for credit losses, a key indicator of how much banks are stashing away for future economic turbulence, slipped to just over $2.2 billion. That’s 14% lower than the same time last year, with the bank following Bank of America – whose PCLs ticked marginally lower – in reducing rainy-day funds.
Investment banking revenue spurred a big jump in Citi’s overall banking growth, while corporate lending spiked by nearly 200% and personal banking eked out 3% revenue growth year over year.
Citi became the latest of Wall Street’s financial titans to release its fourth-quarter and full-year financials this week, with markets keeping a close eye on earnings statements for clues on how the nation’s biggest lenders are faring in the current economy.
Wells Fargo also posted Q4 results this morning, seeing revenue increase by 4% and earnings rise by 13%, to $1.62 per share. Consumer banking and lending revenue jumped by 7%, but commercial banking revenue moved lower and corporate and investment banking revenue stayed largely unchanged.
Bank of America, meanwhile, saw its earnings soar by 18%, topping analyst estimates as revenue leapt to $28.4 billion. Consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, and global markets all posted solid performances, and provisions for credit losses came in at $1.3 billion compared with $1.5 billion the same time last year.
JPMorgan Chase’s Q4 and full-year results, posted Tuesday, also beat analyst expectations – with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley next up, scheduled to reveal their financials tomorrow morning.
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