Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Citigroup Posts Beat on Q3 2014 Earnings

Pre-market Citigroup posted a rise of 6.6% to EPS of $1.15, beating estimates by $.03, excluding one time charges.
Revenue rose 9.5%, to $19.6 billion.

The bank also reported it is exiting 11 poorly performing regions by selling its retail banking branches in: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Guam, the Czech REpublic, Egypt, Hungary, and Japan.  Japan was the only surprising pick, but with the Abenomics form of QE keeping interest rates low in the foreseeable future, it makes sense for Citi to exit the region, inorder to keep their NIM high.
The banks Net Interest Margin to 2.9%
Fixed Income trading revenue rose 5% to $2.98 billion, which has been a soft spot for banks earnings the past year.
Citigroup did however have higher expenses, much in-line with the company's guidance that stress-tests preparation would rise costs. Operating expenses for the quarter rose 5.8%.
Investment banking revenue rose 32%, driven by broad-based strength in the IPO and debt underwriting businesses. Advisory revenue rose 90%.
Shares were up 2.5% in mid-day trading.

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