C Citigroup Inc

By David Benoit 

Citigroup Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit plunged 46%, after the bank set aside nearly $5 billion to prepare for a wave of loan defaults as the coronavirus pandemic pummels the global economy.

Citigroup's profit for the first three months of the year fell to $2.52 billion, or $1.05 per share, from $4.71 billion, or $1.87 a share. Analysts had expected $1.07 a share, according to FactSet, a forecast that has been cut in half since late February.

Revenue rose 12% to $20.73 billion, compared with $18.58 billion a year earlier and the $19.03 billion analysts expected.

The revenue gains were powered by Citigroup's investment bank, which benefited from the volatile markets to post a strong quarter in trading.

Citigroup increased its loan loss provision, money for loans it now thinks can go bad, by $4.92 billion, from just $278 million in the prior quarter, partly reflecting an accounting change as well as concerns about the economy. Of that, $2.85 billion came in the consumer bank and another $1.88 billion in the corporate bank. Its total provision in the quarter was $7 billion.

Write to David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 15, 2020 08:37 ET (12:37 GMT)

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