C Citigroup Inc

By Telis Demos 

Citigroup Inc. said Monday its second-quarter income rose 7% from a year ago.

Quarterly profit was $4.8 billion, up from $4.49 billion a year ago. Per-share earnings were $1.95. Analysts had expected $1.81 a share.

Revenue at the bank was $18.76 billion, up 2% from $18.47 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by Refintiv had expected $18.5 billion.

Citigroup is the first of the big U.S. banks to report second-quarter results. The New York bank and its rivals have been under pressure in recent months. Tepid market volatility is hurting trading desks. The Federal Reserve has signaled it is ready to cut interest rates, which would likely hurt banks' lending profitability.

Trading revenue at Citigroup was up 4%, to $4.11 billion. The bank had forecast a single-digit decline across fixed-income and equities trading.

Banks have warned that despite record stock markets, clients have remained cautious, and weren't paying their banks to help them put on big new bets.

Global consumer banking revenue at Citigroup rose by 3% to $8.51 billion. The bank has been focused on expanding its U.S. retail banking presence, which trails its megabank peers, and improving the return on its vast credit-card business.

The bank continued to slash costs. Expenses were down 2% to $10.5 billion. Earlier this year, Chief Executive Michael Corbat predicted investments in technology could improve efficiency by about $500 million a year.

Citigroup shares have led major banks with a 38% gain so far in 2019. The broader KBW Nasdaq Bank index is up 16% this year.

Write to Telis Demos at telis.demos@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 15, 2019 08:30 ET (12:30 GMT)

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