Citigroup profit sinks 27% on loan loss provisions, dealmaking slump

Citigroup Inc posted a 27% decline in second-quarter profit on Friday as the third-largest U.S. bank added reserves for potentially sour loans and its investment banking business took a hit from a slowdown in corporate dealmaking. Profit fell to $4.5 billion, or $2.19 a share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $6.2 billion, or $2.85 a share, a year earlier.

Citigroup Inc posted a 27% decline in second-quarter profit on Friday as the third-largest U.S. bank added reserves for potentially sour loans and its investment banking business took a hit from a slowdown in corporate dealmaking.

Profit fell to $4.5 billion, or $2.19 a share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $6.2 billion, or $2.85 a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.66 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data. It was not immediately clear if the reported numbers were comparable to estimates. Credit costs rose to $1.3 billion, a sharp contrast to the $1.07 billion benefit a year earlier. The shift came as the bank added $375 million to its loan-loss reserves in the face of growing recession fears. A year earlier, exceptional government stimulus and the economy's recovery from the pandemic had allowed it to release $2.4 billion of reserves.