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Income, Revenues Fall At Citigroup In Q4
Harriet Davies
18 January 2012
Citigroup said private banking revenues rose by 4 per cent to $519 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 from the same three months of 2010, while full-year revenues of $1.46 billion represented a 7 per cent rise year-on-year. For the US banking group as a whole, Citigroup logged a 7 per cent drop year-over-year in revenues for the fourth quarter to $17.2 billion, while net income fell from $1.3 billion to $1.2 billion. Analysts at Morgan Stanley, who have an "equal weight" stance on the company's stock, say the revenue figures missed consensus estimates. The banking group attributed the 11 per cent decline in net income for the quarter to the drop in revenues, as well as a $465 million increase in operating expenses and a $470 million increase in provision for taxes. These factors were offset by a $2 billion improvement in the cost of credit compared to the prior year. For the whole of 2011, the bank reported net income of $11.3 billion on revenues of $78.4 billion. By comparison, it reported lower net income in 2010 (at $10.6 billion) on higher revenues ($86.6 billion). The firm attributed the majority of the decline in revenues to the ongoing reduction in assets at Citi Holdings. Revenues at Citi Holdings plummeted 33 per cent for the year to $12.9 billion. Citicorp revenues dipped 2 per cent for the year, to $64.6 billion, as revenue growth from regional consumer banking and transaction services offset declines in securities and banking revenues. Excluding credit and debt valuation adjustments, revenue at the securities and banking division dropped 29 per cent. The bank’s Tier 1 Common ratio – a measure of capital strength – increased to 11.8 per cent.