Citi’s Trading Windfall No Match for Surge in Souring Loans
- Fixed-income traders crush projections by more than $1 billion
- But it’s more than wiped out by $7 billion in loan provisions
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Citigroup Inc.’s bond traders just posted their best quarter in eight years -- a feat that was no match for the tidal wave of souring loans that walloped the bank’s profits.
The deadly pandemic that sent global markets swooning helped the firm’s fixed-income, currencies and commodities traders generate $4.79 billion, trouncing analysts’ estimates by more than $1 billion. But the firm simultaneously set aside $7.03 billion to cover potential losses on loans. Net income fell short of projections.