NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Citigroup posted second-quarter earnings of $2.2 billion Monday, marking its third straight quarterly profit and beating Wall Street expectations, as the bank continued to trim its loan loss reserves thanks to improving credit trends.
Earnings for the banking giant came in at 7 cents per share, compared to a loss of 27 cents per share during the period a year ago.
Last month, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) said Discover Financial Services (DFS, Fortune 500) was buying the troubled Student Loan Corporation business, in which Citi owns a big stake. Excluding charges from that sale, the New York-based bank earned $2.6 billion, or 8 cents per share.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn 6 cents for the quarter.
The provision for credit losses, the funds set aside for the allowance of bad loans, was reduced to $5.9 billion, the lowest since the second quarter of 2007, prior to the onset of the financial crisis. That's a decrease of 11% from the previous quarter.
Citigroup' is the second big bank in the past week to report better-than expected results. JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), which raked in $4.4 billion last quarter, reported last week.
The rest of the banking sector is slated to deliver results this week, including Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500), and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500).
Shares of Citi were up more than 2% in pre-market trading. But all big bank stocks have been hit hard on the past week due to concerns about the foreclosure scandal. To top of page
Showing posts with label CITI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CITI. Show all posts
Monday, October 18, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Citigroup eyes top 3 foreign broking spots
The stockbroking firm will target foreign institutional investors who want to invest in Malaysia as well as domestic institutions wishing to invest overseas
CITIGROUP Inc, the world's largest bank, officially entered Malaysia's stockbroking sector yesterday and said it aims to become one of the top three foreign brokerages in the country in two years.
"It's going to take time for us to build relationships with the institutions, to build the trust ... Nevertheless, we have a challenging and ambitious goal, and we are confident that we can achieve it," Citi Asia-Pacific head of equities Adrian Faure said.
Citigroup, via Citigroup Global Markets Malaysia Sdn Bhd, received Bank Negara Malaysia's approval to establish a stockbroking company in the country early this year. It now joins six other foreign players in the sector.
For Citigroup, having the stockbroking licence marks a significant milestone as it can now play a wider role in the Malaysian capital market.
"It fills in the one gap we have in our product offering," said Sanjeev Nanavati, chief executive officer of Citibank Bhd and chairman and non-executive director of Citigroup Global Markets Malaysia.
The stockbroking firm will target foreign institutional investors who want to invest in Malaysia as well as domestic institutions wishing to invest overseas. A bulk of foreign interest is expected to come from the Middle East.
"Middle East funds are increasingly looking to invest in Malaysia. With a presence across that region with a team that covers more than 100 clients with assets under management of more than US$1 trillion (RM3.1 trillion), Citi is well placed to help facilitate some of these increased flows," said Sanjeev.
Citigroup's stockbroking business in Malaysia is also expected to help address the declining foreign participation in the local stock exchange.
As of the first half of this year, foreign investors own just 25 per cent of the market here against 35 per cent between 2005 and 2007.
The launch is also timely as there is an increasing emphasis on investing in Southeast Asian countries.
"Hong Kong and (mainland) China have had a tough year and we see rotation into the smaller markets," Faure said.
However, Faure warned that there was a risk of overheating in the market.
"Everyone now has got a religion, and that religion is emerging markets. And I see every day new funds coming into Asia.
"So the risk here is too much money, too much liquidity-chasing, where valuation becomes extreme. That being said, we don't see that being the case.
"The Asian markets, typically through the cycle, will trade in a valuation of around 1.3-3 times price to book, from the peak to the trot, and we are currently trading at about 1.6-1.7 times," he said.
Citigroup also expressed hopes of expanding its stockbroking presence to Vietnam by the end of this year. It may acquire a minority stake in a stockbroking firm in Vietnam.
Read more: Citigroup eyes top 3 foreign broking spots http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/citistock/Article/#ixzz10Ptdp5xE
CITIGROUP Inc, the world's largest bank, officially entered Malaysia's stockbroking sector yesterday and said it aims to become one of the top three foreign brokerages in the country in two years.
"It's going to take time for us to build relationships with the institutions, to build the trust ... Nevertheless, we have a challenging and ambitious goal, and we are confident that we can achieve it," Citi Asia-Pacific head of equities Adrian Faure said.
Citigroup, via Citigroup Global Markets Malaysia Sdn Bhd, received Bank Negara Malaysia's approval to establish a stockbroking company in the country early this year. It now joins six other foreign players in the sector.
For Citigroup, having the stockbroking licence marks a significant milestone as it can now play a wider role in the Malaysian capital market.
"It fills in the one gap we have in our product offering," said Sanjeev Nanavati, chief executive officer of Citibank Bhd and chairman and non-executive director of Citigroup Global Markets Malaysia.
The stockbroking firm will target foreign institutional investors who want to invest in Malaysia as well as domestic institutions wishing to invest overseas. A bulk of foreign interest is expected to come from the Middle East.
"Middle East funds are increasingly looking to invest in Malaysia. With a presence across that region with a team that covers more than 100 clients with assets under management of more than US$1 trillion (RM3.1 trillion), Citi is well placed to help facilitate some of these increased flows," said Sanjeev.
Citigroup's stockbroking business in Malaysia is also expected to help address the declining foreign participation in the local stock exchange.
As of the first half of this year, foreign investors own just 25 per cent of the market here against 35 per cent between 2005 and 2007.
The launch is also timely as there is an increasing emphasis on investing in Southeast Asian countries.
"Hong Kong and (mainland) China have had a tough year and we see rotation into the smaller markets," Faure said.
However, Faure warned that there was a risk of overheating in the market.
"Everyone now has got a religion, and that religion is emerging markets. And I see every day new funds coming into Asia.
"So the risk here is too much money, too much liquidity-chasing, where valuation becomes extreme. That being said, we don't see that being the case.
"The Asian markets, typically through the cycle, will trade in a valuation of around 1.3-3 times price to book, from the peak to the trot, and we are currently trading at about 1.6-1.7 times," he said.
Citigroup also expressed hopes of expanding its stockbroking presence to Vietnam by the end of this year. It may acquire a minority stake in a stockbroking firm in Vietnam.
Read more: Citigroup eyes top 3 foreign broking spots http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/citistock/Article/#ixzz10Ptdp5xE
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Report: FBI probes hacker attack on Citigroup
Wah...be hacker is much better then invest....earn more hahaha
WASHINGTON: The FBI is investigating a hacker attack on Citigroup Inc. that led to the theft of tens of millions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The bank strenuously denied the report. Citing anonymous government officials, the Journal reported that the hackers were connected to a Russian cyber gang.
Two other computer systems, at least one of connected to a U.S. government agency, were also attacked.
In a statement, Citi said "any allegation that the FBI is working on a case at Citigroup involving a breach of Citi systems resulting in tens of millions of dollars of losses is false. There has been no breach and there have been no associated losses."
Dow Jones & Co. spokesman Robert Christie said the Journal stands by the accuracy of its story.
The Journal reported that the attack on Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary was detected over the summer, although it may have occurred up to one year earlier.
The FBI, the National Security Agency, the Homeland Security Department and Citigroup worked together to investigate the attack.
Cyber crime is of increasing concern to businesses and the federal government, with President Barack Obama calling it one of the "most serious economic and national security challenges we face."
On Tuesday, Obama announced the appointment of Howard A. Schmidt, a former eBay and Microsoft executive, as the government's cyber security coordinator.
Internet attacks on banks are very common, said Tom Kellermann, a former senior member of the World Bank's Treasury security team and now vice president of security awareness for Core Security Technologies.
While he said he has no knowledge of an attack specific to Citigroup, Kellermann said Tuesday that large financial institutions are "consistently targeted" by criminal organizations in Eastern Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia.
"Ninety-eight percent of bank heists are now occurring virtually and not in the real world," he said, adding that the industry is "hemorrhaging funds" as a result.
Banks that accept deposits made more than 53,000 reports of wire transfer fraud between April 1996 and the end of 2008, according to the Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
These reports are filed when a bank suspects criminal activity, though they are not necessarily evidence that a crime was committed.
Nevertheless, such reports have been increasing.
Nearly 15,000 of these reports were filed in 2008, up from 9,300 the year before.
It's often difficult to determine who pulled off a virtual bank heist.
Hackers tend to use "botnets," worldwide networks of "zombie" personal computers they've infected with viruses without the knowledge of the computers' owners.
And even if the hackers are caught, punishing them is another hurdle.
"Less than 30 countries have actually criminalized cybercrime," Kellermann said. - AP
WASHINGTON: The FBI is investigating a hacker attack on Citigroup Inc. that led to the theft of tens of millions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The bank strenuously denied the report. Citing anonymous government officials, the Journal reported that the hackers were connected to a Russian cyber gang.
Two other computer systems, at least one of connected to a U.S. government agency, were also attacked.
In a statement, Citi said "any allegation that the FBI is working on a case at Citigroup involving a breach of Citi systems resulting in tens of millions of dollars of losses is false. There has been no breach and there have been no associated losses."
Dow Jones & Co. spokesman Robert Christie said the Journal stands by the accuracy of its story.
The Journal reported that the attack on Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary was detected over the summer, although it may have occurred up to one year earlier.
The FBI, the National Security Agency, the Homeland Security Department and Citigroup worked together to investigate the attack.
Cyber crime is of increasing concern to businesses and the federal government, with President Barack Obama calling it one of the "most serious economic and national security challenges we face."
On Tuesday, Obama announced the appointment of Howard A. Schmidt, a former eBay and Microsoft executive, as the government's cyber security coordinator.
Internet attacks on banks are very common, said Tom Kellermann, a former senior member of the World Bank's Treasury security team and now vice president of security awareness for Core Security Technologies.
While he said he has no knowledge of an attack specific to Citigroup, Kellermann said Tuesday that large financial institutions are "consistently targeted" by criminal organizations in Eastern Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia.
"Ninety-eight percent of bank heists are now occurring virtually and not in the real world," he said, adding that the industry is "hemorrhaging funds" as a result.
Banks that accept deposits made more than 53,000 reports of wire transfer fraud between April 1996 and the end of 2008, according to the Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
These reports are filed when a bank suspects criminal activity, though they are not necessarily evidence that a crime was committed.
Nevertheless, such reports have been increasing.
Nearly 15,000 of these reports were filed in 2008, up from 9,300 the year before.
It's often difficult to determine who pulled off a virtual bank heist.
Hackers tend to use "botnets," worldwide networks of "zombie" personal computers they've infected with viruses without the knowledge of the computers' owners.
And even if the hackers are caught, punishing them is another hurdle.
"Less than 30 countries have actually criminalized cybercrime," Kellermann said. - AP
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Kuwait sells Citi stake, makes US$1.1b
KUWAIT: Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund said on Sunday it had sold its stake in US bank Citigroup, making US$1.1 billion (RM3.7 billion) in profit.
Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) transferred the preferred stocks it owned in Citigroup to normal stocks and sold all of them for US$4.1 billion, KIA said in a statement.
"Kuwait Investment Authority had invested an amount of US$3 billion in Citigroup in the form of preferred stocks in January 2008," KIA said.
Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, which manages state assets in the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter, has come under fire from some parliamentarians for investing US$5 billion in Citigroup and Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch has since been bought by Bank of America.
The value of foreign assets managed by the KIA, fell by about nine billion dinars (RM104.6 billion) in the nine months to December 2008, due to the financial crisis, two lawmakers said in February after a government briefing. KIA managed assets worth about 49 billion dinars at Dec 31, the MPs said.
Since October 2008, KIA has reduced the exposure of its key Future Generation fund to global equities markets, shifting assets to cash funds, the government said in January.
In May, Kuwait's Finance Minister Mustapha al-Shamali told Reuters that the Gulf state was not reducing its dollar assets and was keeping some liquid assets to meet its budget requirements. - Reuters
Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) transferred the preferred stocks it owned in Citigroup to normal stocks and sold all of them for US$4.1 billion, KIA said in a statement.
"Kuwait Investment Authority had invested an amount of US$3 billion in Citigroup in the form of preferred stocks in January 2008," KIA said.
Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, which manages state assets in the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter, has come under fire from some parliamentarians for investing US$5 billion in Citigroup and Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch has since been bought by Bank of America.
The value of foreign assets managed by the KIA, fell by about nine billion dinars (RM104.6 billion) in the nine months to December 2008, due to the financial crisis, two lawmakers said in February after a government briefing. KIA managed assets worth about 49 billion dinars at Dec 31, the MPs said.
Since October 2008, KIA has reduced the exposure of its key Future Generation fund to global equities markets, shifting assets to cash funds, the government said in January.
In May, Kuwait's Finance Minister Mustapha al-Shamali told Reuters that the Gulf state was not reducing its dollar assets and was keeping some liquid assets to meet its budget requirements. - Reuters
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Kuwait fund: No plans to sell Citi, Merrill stakes
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund said Sunday that it has no plans to sell stakes in Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. because it has faith in the potential of the U.S. banks.
"The authority has no intention of selling its holdings in Merrill Lynch or Citigroup in the near term, since the authority's investment policies are based on a long-term vision," the Kuwait Investment Authority said in a statement published in local newspapers al-Rai and al-Qabas. The comments were attributed to both the fund itself and to Finance Minister Mostafa al-Shimali.
The KIA pumped $5 billion into the two banking giants in January 2008 just as the financial crisis was gathering steam. Some Kuwaiti members of parliament criticized the deals when their value later tumbled.
Sunday's comments were in response to questions from lawmaker Walid al-Tabtabai.
While noting that it is capable of selling its holdings in the two companies if it chooses to, the fund said it nonetheless remains committed to its investments for now.
"Despite the sharp decline in international share prices, we think the crisis will pass with time because central banks are working to deal with it," according to the reports. "We think the investments in these two companies is a good investment in the long-run."
Phone calls to the fund seeking additional comment went unanswered Sunday.
The KIA invested $3 billion in Citigroup and $2 billion in Merrill Lynch when they needed cash following losses stemming from the credit crisis.
Merrill was later bought by Bank of America Corp., making the KIA a big shareholder in that company.
The Kuwaiti fund described the combined firm as "an unrivaled company in its outreach and financial services," and said that it received about nine-tenths of a Bank of America share for each Merrill share it held.
OPEC member Kuwait rarely releases details about its foreign investments. In February, al-Tabtabai said the KIA lost 9 billion dinars ($30.73 billion) from March to December last year.
Rachel Ziemba, an analyst at RGE Monitor who tracks sovereign wealth funds, estimates Gulf Arab funds and central bank holdings tumbled to a 2009 low of $1.10 trillion in February from a peak of $1.37 trillion August 2008 as a result of the financial meltdown.
An influx of fresh oil profits and a rebound in the stock market have pushed the Gulf's foreign holdings up to $1.24 trillion through August, she estimates.
Associated Press Writer Sarah el-Deeb contributed reporting from Cairo.
6/9/2009
"The authority has no intention of selling its holdings in Merrill Lynch or Citigroup in the near term, since the authority's investment policies are based on a long-term vision," the Kuwait Investment Authority said in a statement published in local newspapers al-Rai and al-Qabas. The comments were attributed to both the fund itself and to Finance Minister Mostafa al-Shimali.
The KIA pumped $5 billion into the two banking giants in January 2008 just as the financial crisis was gathering steam. Some Kuwaiti members of parliament criticized the deals when their value later tumbled.
Sunday's comments were in response to questions from lawmaker Walid al-Tabtabai.
While noting that it is capable of selling its holdings in the two companies if it chooses to, the fund said it nonetheless remains committed to its investments for now.
"Despite the sharp decline in international share prices, we think the crisis will pass with time because central banks are working to deal with it," according to the reports. "We think the investments in these two companies is a good investment in the long-run."
Phone calls to the fund seeking additional comment went unanswered Sunday.
The KIA invested $3 billion in Citigroup and $2 billion in Merrill Lynch when they needed cash following losses stemming from the credit crisis.
Merrill was later bought by Bank of America Corp., making the KIA a big shareholder in that company.
The Kuwaiti fund described the combined firm as "an unrivaled company in its outreach and financial services," and said that it received about nine-tenths of a Bank of America share for each Merrill share it held.
OPEC member Kuwait rarely releases details about its foreign investments. In February, al-Tabtabai said the KIA lost 9 billion dinars ($30.73 billion) from March to December last year.
Rachel Ziemba, an analyst at RGE Monitor who tracks sovereign wealth funds, estimates Gulf Arab funds and central bank holdings tumbled to a 2009 low of $1.10 trillion in February from a peak of $1.37 trillion August 2008 as a result of the financial meltdown.
An influx of fresh oil profits and a rebound in the stock market have pushed the Gulf's foreign holdings up to $1.24 trillion through August, she estimates.
Associated Press Writer Sarah el-Deeb contributed reporting from Cairo.
6/9/2009
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