FinanceCitigroup profit jumps, plans Asia and EMEA exits as Fraser makes her mark
ReutersDavid Henry
5 minutes read
A view of the exterior of the Citibank corporate headquarters in New York, New York, U.S. May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
Citigroup Inc (C.N) trounced first-quarter profit expectations, thanks to a rebound in the broader economy and a jump in investment banking activity, and said it will exit some overseas businesses as new chief executive Jane Fraser starts to make her mark on the country s third-largest lender.
The bank reported $7.94 billion in profit, triple the $2.54 billion it made a year earlier, as it released funds set aside to cover pandemic loan losses and cashed in on a boom in listed shell company deals which has boosted underwriting income across Wall Street.
Citi’s New CEO Taps Familiar Strategy With Retail Banking Exits
Bloomberg 20 hrs ago Jenny Surane and Alex Tribou
(Bloomberg) As Citigroup Inc. simplifies its sprawling businesses, new Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser is reaching for a familiar playbook: her own.
Fraser, who rose to the top of the firm last month, is on familiar ground as she moves to exit retail banking in 13 markets across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa as part of a strategic overhaul. Within a year of taking over the company’s operations in Latin America in 2015, the former consultant oversaw sales of retail-banking and credit-card operations in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
Provided by Dow Jones
By Orla McCaffrey Citigroup Inc. is shutting down most of its consumer-banking operations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, the latest sign that the original financial supermarket is rethinking how to do business. The bank on Thursday also reported a sharply higher first-quarter profit, though that was largely because its year-ago results were hammered by pandemic preparations. Citigroup posted a profit of $7.9 billion, or $3.62 a share, well above the $2.60 a share forecast by analysts polled by FactSet. A year earlier, Citigroup had reported a quarterly profit of about $2.5 billion, or $1.05 a share. The New York bank also said it would exit its consumer operations in 13 countries, mostly across Asia, to focus on wealth management and other businesses.
Provided by Dow Jones
By Orla McCaffrey Citigroup Inc. on Thursday reported sharply higher first-quarter profit and said it is shutting down most of its consumer-banking operations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The bank posted a profit of $7.9 billion, or $3.62 a share, well above the $2.60 a share forecast by analysts polled by FactSet. A year earlier, Citigroup had reported a quarterly profit of about $2.5 billion, or $1.05 a share. Citigroup also said it would exit its consumer operations in 13 countries, mostly across Asia, to focus on wealth management and other businesses. Jane Fraser, who took over as chief executive officer last month, said in a statement that those consumer banks were excellent businesses, but we don t have the scale we need to compete. She said Citigroup would continue to invest in wealth management and in the businesses that work with corporate clients in Asia.
Citi flexes SPAC muscles for a record profit
Jenny Surane
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New York | Citigroup’s equities desks, undersized among Wall Street’s giants, are proving strong enough to lift the firm to a record quarterly profit just as a new chief executive officer takes the helm.
The bank reaped the most revenue from stock trading in the first quarter since 2009, while fees from underwriting shares quadrupled, helped by the firm’s dominance in taking blank-check companies known as SPACs to public markets. That offset a slump in revenue from Citigroup’s massive fixed-income trading division.
The bank also said it will exit retail banking in 13 markets across Asia and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as part of CEO Jane Fraser’s ongoing review of the firm’s strategy.