Citigroup reported a marginal fall in adjusted quarterly profit from ongoing businesses after the Federal Reserve's decision to continue its bond-buying programme for longer than expected slowed trading by clients.
The earnings fell short of market expectations.
Third-quarter net income, adjusted for certain items, slipped to $3.26 billion, or $1.02 per share, from $3.27 billion, or $1.06 per share a year earlier, the third-largest US bank said today.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.04 per share on an adjusted basis, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue from bond market trading fell 26% on the same basis.
Bond trading volume across much of Wall Street slowed during the quarter after the US Federal Reserve decided to continue its programme of bond buying for longer than expected.
JPMorgan Chase & Co reported last week that its revenue from fixed-income trading fell 8% in the quarter.
Citigroup had better results in equity trading, but those gains were not enough to offset the decline in bond trading as revenue from the bank's securities and banking business fell 10% on an adjusted basis.
Revenue for the whole company fell 5% to $18.22 billion, excluding items.
Adjustments excluded a loss in the prior year related to the sale of the bank's interest in brokerage Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, as well as the impact of tax benefits and changes in the value of Citigroup debts and those of trading partners.
"While many of the factors which influence our revenues are not within our full control, we certainly can control our costs and I am pleased with our expense discipline and improved efficiency year-to-date," chief executive Michael Corbat said.
Total cost of credit fell 25% to $1.96 billion.
Under generally accepted accounting principles, net income rose to $3.23 billion, or $1 a share, from $468 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier.
