Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi, says she is convinced Europe will fall into recession as it faces the impact of the war in Ukraine and the resultant energy crisis.
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Citigroup posted second-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue as the firm benefited from rising interest rates and strong trading results.
Here’s what the bank reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $2.19 vs $1.68 expected
- Revenue: $19.64 billion vs $18.22 billion expected
Shares of the bank rose 3.3% in premarket trading.
“In a challenging macro and geopolitical environment, our team delivered solid results and we are in a strong position to weather uncertain times, given our liquidity, credit quality and reserve levels,” Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said in a statement. Corporate cash management, Wall Street trading and consumer credit cards performed well in the quarter, she noted.
Having a low stock price hasn’t protected Citigroup from further declines this year. It’s the cheapest of the six biggest U.S. banks from a valuation perspective, having declined 27% this year. On Thursday, Citigroup shares hit a fresh 52-week low.
How will Fraser begin to turn the tide? Fraser has announced plans to exit retail banking markets outside the U.S. and set medium-term return targets in March. But there are no easy answers.
Bank stocks have been hammered this year over concerns that the U.S. is facing a recession, which would lead to a surge in loan losses. Like the rest of the industry, Citigroup is also contending with a sharp decline in investment banking revenue, partly offset by an expected boost to trading results in the quarter.
On Thursday, bigger rival JPMorgan Chase posted results that missed expectations as it built reserves for bad loans, and Morgan Stanley disappointed on a worse-than-expected slowdown in investment banking fees.
Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are scheduled to report results on Monday.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
