• Published on 15 April 2024
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Citi announces Q1 earnings with banking rebound

Citi reported strong earnings in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2024), primarily driven by its investment banking and corporate lending divisions.

Citi's banking revenues of $1.7 billion increased 49%, driven by growth in investment banking and corporate lending.

Investment banking revenues of $903 million increased 35%, driven by debt capital markets and equity capital markets, as improved market sentiment led to an increase in issuance activity.

This increase in revenues was partially offset by lower Advisory revenues, driven by the impact of lower merger activity announced in the second half of 2023. Corporate lending revenues of $915 million, increased 34% versus the prior year, largely driven by higher revenue share.

Banking net income of $536 million was driven by the higher revenues and the lower expenses. Equity underwriting fees stood at $171 million up 57% year-on-year, while debt underwriting fees stood at $576 million up 62% year-on-year.

In Asia, Citi ended the first quarter as the number one equity underwriter by volume in Asia ex-Japan and the top two investment bank by net revenue in Asia ex-Japan ex-China onshore, according to Dealogic.

Dealogic data showed that Indian equity capital markets (ECM) issuance hit $14.8 billion in Q1 2024, the most on record, via 144 transactions.

Citi topped the underwriting league table for Indian clients with a market share of 14%. Citi also topped the Asia ECM league table in the first quarter. The bank has a busy pipeline across various sectors in India and expects further strong volumes during 2024.

Rahul Saraf, Citi’s head of investment banking for India said: “With a strong pipeline and continued strong investor interest, we expect more records to fall during 2024.”

Jan Metzger, Citi’s head of investment banking for Asia said: “India is one of Citi’s strongest banking markets globally and we are committed to supporting our clients in India with their financing needs.”

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker