Citigroup, BofA warn of quarterly trading slump

Bloomberg

The biggest trading houses on Wall Street are warning of a slump. Citigroup Inc. said trading revenue has declined so far this quarter while Bank of America Corp. indicated revenue is on pace to be about 10 percent lower. They joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. in reporting a downturn for the business. A burgeoning trade war, the UK’s planned exit from the European Union
and escalating tension between the US and Iran have weighed on market sentiment in recent weeks, according to Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat.
“Clearly, trading revenue and wallets right now are down,” Corbat said at a conference in New York. “In periods of uncertainty, things tend to become pretty muted.”
Corbat declined to give specific figures about his firm’s performance so far this quarter, saying Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason would give more details in coming weeks.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that his firm’s trading revenue had declined 4 percent to 5 percent during the first two months of the second quarter, while noting that “the next month could dramatically change that.”
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank is expecting trading revenue to fall by about 8 percent from the first quarter, less than the usual seasonal decline. That puts it on track for a slump of about 10 percent from last year’s second quarter.