Citi Says Trading Environment Improved From 2018's Rough End

Shares jump as CFO Gerspach cites signs of stabilization
M&A advisers boost earnings 47% as underwriting business flags

Bloomberg Intelligence’s Alison Williams examines fourth-quarter results from Citigroup Inc. (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Jennifer Surane

January 14, 2019 at 1:02 PM UTC

Updated on

January 14, 2019 at 9:14 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Citigroup Inc. offered some hope that the worst is over for its bond-trading business after the toughest quarter for that unit in seven years.

The lender’s shares jumped almost 4 percent, the most in the S&P 500 Index, after Chief Financial Officer John Gerspach said the trading environment was starting to improve this month. The brighter outlook came after the lender reported revenue from fixed-income trading, its largest securities business, plunged 21 percent in the fourth quarter as wild markets kept clients on the sidelines.