The US-headquartered banking group reported a drop in net income in the fourth quarter of 2014, as legal and related costs, and other charges, took a toll on results.

Citi, the US banking group with a large private banking offering, reported $350 million ($0.06 per diluted share) in net income for the fourth quarter of 2014, down sharply from $2.5 billion ($0.77 per diluted share) a year ago.

Revenue of $17.8 billion dropped 9 per cent from the third quarter of 2014 (when it was $19.6 billion) and is essentially flat year-on-year, the firm said yesterday in a statement, as US banks and financial institutions began issuing results. Firms such as JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and BlackRock have started to issue their quarterly and full-year numbers.

The firm said legal and related expenses, and repositioning charges, totalled $3.5 billion for the quarter, compared to $1.0 billion in the prior-year period.

Citigroup full-year 2014 net income was $7.3 billion on $76.9 billion in revenue, compared to net income of $13.7 billion on $76.4 billion in revenue for the full-year 2013.

The picture is brighter at Citi Private Bank, where revenue rose 11 per cent year-on-year from $599 million to $666 million in the final quarter of 2014.

Private banking revenue is also up from $663 million in the third quarter of 2014.