US bank Citigroup has reported a loss of $7.6 billion for the final quarter of 2009 after being hit by costs linked to the repayment of US government funds.
The third-largest US bank said the loss amounted to 33 cents a share, compared with a loss of $17.3 billion, or $3.40 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
Citigroup said its fourth quarter revenues were $5.4 billion, or $15.5 billion when the repayment of a government bail-out loan was excluded. It set aside $8.2 billion for loan losses, 36% lower than a year earlier.
Citigroup is the second major US bank to report Q4 results. JPMorgan Chase recorded a quarterly profit of $3.3 billion last week, helped by rising trading revenue, but suffered deep losses on US mortgage and credit card loans, which disappointed many investors.
Citigroup has been struggling to return to profitability in its main lending businesses after posting more than $100 billion of credit losses and writedowns. The bank reported a net loss of $1.6 billion for the whole of 2009, when it was helped by $6.7 billion from the sale of a controlling stake in its Smith Barney business.
