Citigroup's Q3 earnings beat expectations

Citigroup reported a drop in third-quarter earnings and revenue on Friday, but the figures were ahead of analysts’ forecasts.

Third-quarter net income came in at $3.8bn, or $1.24 per diluted share, down from $4.3bn, or $1.35 in the third quarter of 2015, on revenue of $17.8bn, down from $18.7bn.

Analysts had been expecting adjusted EPS of $1.16 and revenue of $17.3bn.

Chief executive Michael Corbat said: “I am very encouraged by the underlying momentum across our franchise, notably in several areas where we have been investing. In the quarter, both our Global Consumer Bank and Institutional Clients Group had solid year-over-year revenue increases in nearly every business line and geography. We also continued to grow core loans and deposits while reducing non-core assets to just 3% of our balance sheet.

"We remain intensely focused on shareholder returns. The acquisition of the Costco portfolio and the recently announced sales of our retail operations in Argentina and Brazil are the latest examples of how we are shifting resources to the areas we believe will generate the best returns for our shareholders.”

Global Consumer Banking revenue was up 1% to $8.2bn, while revenue at the Institutional Clients Group was 2% higher at $8.6bn.

At 1315 BST, Citigroup shares were up 2.2% to $49.54 in pre-market trade.