Citigroup counts on cost cuts, consumers as trading sputters

Bloomberg

At Citigroup Inc, bean counting and boring banking are in ascendance. Trading, not so much.
The lender cut costs deeper than analysts expected while its consumer division posted its strongest second-quarter since 2013. Together, that outshined the firm’s Wall Street operations, where dealmakers eked out a surprise increase in revenue from underwriting debt while traders struggled.
“We have good momentum and solid growth across our consumer franchise, particularly in the US,” CEO Michael Corbat said. “We navigated an uncertain environment successfully by executing our strategy.”
Citigroup shares climbed 0.8 percent in New York trading.
The results from Citigroup, the first giant US bank to report earnings for the quarter, underscore how rough it’s getting for traders even with stocks reaching record highs. Markets keep getting jolted by President Donald Trump’s unpredictable threats to ratchet up tariffs on countries such as China and Mexico, as well as the Federal Reserve’s shifting stance on interest rates. That’s sent investing clients to the sidelines, taking a toll on banks matching buyers and sellers.
Net income rose 7 percent to $4.8 billion. Earnings per share excluding the gain on Tradeweb were $1.83. Analysts had estimated adjusted per-share earnings of $1.80.