Citigroup has reported a 6% increase in its net income for the third quarter 2019 (Q3 2019) to $4.91bn, or $2.07 per diluted share, compared to $4.62bn, or $1.73 per diluted share, respectively, in the same period last year.
The US investment bank said that the increase in Q3 2019 net income was due to the lower effective tax rate and the higher revenues, which were offset partly by the higher expenses of $10.46bn and the higher cost of credit of $2.08bn.
Net income of the bank in Q2 2019 was $4.8bn.
The bank’s revenues in the third quarter moved up by 1% to $18.57bn compared to $18.38bn in the prior-year period. Included in this is a gain of around $250m on the sale of an asset management business in Mexico in Global Consumer Banking (GCB) during Q3 2018.
Citigroup’s operating expenses in Q3 2019 were up by 1% compared to $10.31bn in Q3 2018. This was due to volume-driven growth and continued investments in the franchise, which more than offset efficiency savings and the closure of legacy assets.
The bank’s end-of-period loans were $692bn as of the end of the third quarter, which marks a 2% increase compared to the prior-year period. On the other hand, its end-of-period deposits were $1.1 trillion as of the end of Q3 2019, which is an increase of 8% compared to Q3 2018.
GCB reported revenues of $8.65bn in Q3 2019, which remained flat compared to the same quarter in the previous year. The retail banking unit saw its net income come down from $3.71bn in Q3 2018 by 6% to $3.48bn, while the cards business had its net income move up by 5% to $5.17bn.
Citigroup reported a 3% increase in the revenues of its Institutional Clients Group business at $9.5bn in Q3 2019.
Citigroup CEO comments on the Q3 2019 results
Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said: “Despite an unpredictable environment throughout the quarter, we continue to deliver on our strategy of improving shareholder returns through consistent, client-led growth while also executing against our capital plan.
“Our Global Consumer Banking franchise performed well in the quarter, showing solid underlying revenue growth of 4% and an EBT increase of 17%.
“In the US, Branded Cards increased revenues by 11% and we saw continued deposit momentum through both digital and traditional channels.
“Our Institutional Clients Group also had balanced performance, with solid results in both the market-sensitive and accrual-type businesses.”
