Citi’s Bond Trading Misses Estimates as 2020’s Surge Weakens

  • Bank releases $1.5 billion from its reserves for loan losses
  • Revenue jumped 57% in recently revamped stock trading unit
Citigroup Profit Tops Expectation as Bond Traders Miss
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Citigroup Inc.’s fixed-income traders -- who propped up the bank’s earnings through much of the pandemic -- missed analysts’ estimates for the final months of 2020, a sign that a wave of investor activity might not last as long as expected.

Revenue from trading bonds, currencies and commodities rose 7% in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, the smallest jump since the Covid-19 virus began rattling markets. The $3.09 billion generated by the business was shy of the $3.2 billion analysts projected.