NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Citigroup Inc posted a 46 per cent plunge in first-quarter profit on Thursday (Apr 14) as it took hits from provisions for Russia-related losses, a slump in underwriting fees and higher expenses.
Citi - the most global of the US banks - added US$1.9 billion to its reserves in the quarter to prepare for losses from direct exposures in Russia and the economic impact of the Ukraine war.
That pushed credit costs to US$755 million, a contrast with the US$2.1 billion benefit a year ago when it freed up loss reserves built during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bank said it had reduced its exposure to Russia to US$7.8 billion, from US$9.8 billion in December. If the conflict follows a severely adverse scenario, it would now lose no more than US$3 billion, down from the nearly US$5 billion estimated last month.
Net income fell to US$4.30 billion, or US$2.02 per share, for the quarter to Mar 31, from US$7.94 billion, or US$3.62 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of US$1.55 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Revenue fell 2 per cent to US$19.2 billion, mainly due to a 43 per cent slump in investment banking revenue as last year's rush of deals involving blank-cheque companies tapered off, drying up underwriting fees.
Revenue from Treasury and Trade Solutions - Citi's crown jewel business - rose 18 per cent due to higher net interest income and fee growth.
"While the geopolitical and macro environment has become more volatile, we are executing the strategy we announced at our recent Investor Day," chief executive officer Jane Fraser said in the results announcement.
Fraser is leading an overhaul of Citi, which lags the financial performance of peers and has to carry out orders from US banking regulators to fix its risk and compliance systems.
Her push has, however, driven up costs, with expenses rising 10 per cent in the quarter excluding those for divestitures of the Asia consumer business.
Yet Citi has been using any excess capital to buy back shares. Unlike other big banks, its stock trades at a discount to its net worth, making buybacks attractive.
The bank returned US$4 billion to shareholders in the quarter, including US$1 billion in dividends, and its share count was 6 per cent lower than a year earlier.
The repurchases came as Citi's capital account was hurt by unrealised losses on securities as a result of the recent rise in interest rates.
Its Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio fell to 11.4 per cent from 12.2 per cent in December. The bank has said it intends to have the ratio back up to 12 per cent by year-end.
A similar decline was reported by JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday, deepening concerns among investors that bank buybacks would be constrained this year.
