Citigroup Rides 3-Year High in Bond Trading to Earnings Beat
- Costco portfolio helps boost revenue at consumer banking unit
- CEO Corbat says performance ‘significantly better’ than 2016
Compass Point’s Peabody Says Citi Is Still in Transition
This article is for subscribers only.
Citigroup Inc. generated the most revenue from fixed-income trading in three years, defying some analysts’ concerns about a slowdown in interest rate and currency activity during the first quarter.
Revenue from bond trading jumped 19 percent from a year earlier to $3.62 billion on strength in those areas, as well as a business that handles corporate debt and bonds backed by other assets, the firm said Thursday in a statement. Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods had cited lower volatility in rates and foreign exchange as a reason for muted expectations, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. pointed to industry commentary suggesting rates trading had cooled in the period’s final weeks.