Citigroup reported a second-quarter profit of 2.2 billion dollars on Monday, exceeding Wall Street predictions, as the bank's loan loss reserves decline thanks to the improving credit position.
The banking giant saw earnings per share of 7 cents, against a loss of 27 cents a share during the same period last year.
Citigroup said last month that Discover Financial Services is purchasing the troubled student lending-business "Student Loan Corporation", whereby Citigroup owns a huge stake. The New York based institution earned 8 cents a share or 2.6 billion dollars, excluding acquisition-related expenses.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted the company's quarterly earnings to be 6 cents a share.
The amount set aside to cover possible losses from bad loans was reduced to 5.9 billion dollars, which was the lowest level since Q2 2007, before the financial meltdown. That's an 11 percent decrease from last quarter and almost 35 percent compared to last year.
The bank reduced its assets by 44 billion dollars or 9 percent from the previous quarter, and assets now account for only 21 percent of the group's total.
Meanwhile, Citigroup, which includes the company's investment and consumer banking business, increased its profits by 43 percent from last year to 3.5 billion dollars.
Revenue
from investment banking dropped during the quarter, but a 7 percent
rise in the bank's Latin America revenue and a 1 percent spike in Asia
offset declines in other places and helped the group to boost its sales
by 7 percent compared to last year.
