Citigroup’s net income for fourth quarter 2015 surged to $3.3 billion, or $1.02 per diluted share, on revenues of $18.5 billion, compared to net income of $344 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, on revenues of $17.9 billion for the fourth quarter 2014.
Both EPS and revenue beat analyst expectations.
Retail banking revenues dipped 6% to $1.3 billion. However, excluding a $130 million gain on the sale of a mortgage portfolio in the prior year period, retail banking revenues increased 4%, reflecting 7% growth in average loans, 9% growth in average checking deposits and improved deposit spreads.
"Overall, we had strong performance during 2015. The $17.1 billion we generated in net income was the highest since 2006, when our company was very different in terms of headcount, footprint, mix of businesses and assets,” said Michael Corbat, CEO of Citigroup.
"Having generated $50 billion in regulatory capital over the last three years, we have already exceeded regulatory thresholds for the Common Equity Tier 1 Capital and Supplementary Leverage ratios,” said Corbat. “This progress allowed us to begin returning meaningful capital to our shareholders. We have made sustainable investments not only in our capital planning process but also in the risk, control and compliance functions, which are critical to maintaining our license to do business. We have undoubtedly become a simpler, smaller, safer and stronger institution.”
