US banking giant Citigroup has reported a $4.4 billion profit for the first three months of this year as it set aside less money to cover credit losses. This was its largest profit since early 2007.
Following on from blockbuster results reported by its rivals last week, Citigroup returned to the black after losing $7.6 billion in the last quarter of 2009.
The company has struggled since the beginning of the financial crisis and required a US government bail-out of $45 billion to stay afloat.
Chief executive Vikram Pandit said the company had now turned a corner. 'Citi today is fundamentally a very different company from what it was only two years ago,' he said, adding that it would not be in that situation without the help of US taxpayers.
But Mr Pandit said the bank remained cautious about the outlook, due to the 'uncertain' economic recovery and high unemployment.
This quarter's stellar banking profits have largely been eclipsed by news that Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs has been charged with financial fraud.
