Citibank Korea Inc. (CKI, chief executive officer Myung-Soon Yoo) reported total revenues of KRW 368.2 billion ($260.6 million) and net income of KRW 186.8 billion ($132.2 million) for the second quarter of 2026. Total revenues and net income increased by 27% and 86%, respectively, from the prior-year period. For the first half of 2026, CKI recorded total revenues of KRW 698.7 billion ($494.5 million) and net income of KRW 319.6 billion ($226.2 million). Compared to the first half of the prior year, total revenues and net income increased by 25% and 75%, respectively.

In the second quarter, total revenues were KRW 368.2 billion ($260.6 million), up 27% from the prior-year period, mainly driven by a 59% increase in non-interest revenue from Core businesses, including fixed-income trading revenues boosted by a favourable capital market conditions. Interest revenues decreased 14% from the prior-year period, primarily due to a decline in net interest margin. However, the net interest margin rebounded from its low point in the first quarter, improving by 0.03%p.

Expenses in the second quarter were KRW 116.2 billion ($82.2 million), down 16% from the prior-year period. Cost of credit amounted to KRW 10.5 billion ($7.4 million), down 54% from the prior-year period. This was primarily due to the base effect from an increase in loan loss reserve in the corporate banking during the same period last year, as well as a reduction in loan loss reserve for the consumer banking in the second quarter.

As of the end of June 2026, total loans amounted to KRW 10.4 trillion ($7.4 billion), down 8% versus the prior-year period, influenced by the ongoing wind-down of the consumer banking. In contrast, securities increased by 30% to KRW 21.3 trillion ($15.1 billion), and customer deposits grew by 16% to KRW 22.3 trillion ($15.8 billion), both versus the prior-year period.

ROA (Return on Assets) and ROE (Return on Equity) for the second quarter 2026 were 1.23% and 13.38%, up by 0.41%p and 6.09%p, respectively, from the prior-year period. As of the end of June 2026, CKI's total capital ratio and common equity Tier 1 capital ratio were 28.24% and 27.37%, decreased by 7.04%p and 6.94%p from the prior year's 35.28% and 34.31% respectively. The decline is primarily driven by an increase in risk-weighted assets, stemming from an expansion in derivative assets due to heightened market volatility and increased customer demand.

Myung-Soon Yoo, chief executive officer of CKI, said "Citibank Korea achieved a significant milestone by recording its highest-ever quarterly net income in the second quarter of 2026. This is the result of actively leveraging Citi's capabilities in our core business areas, Banking, Markets and Services, even in a highly volatile market." She emphasised, "This once again proves the strength of Citigroup, which delivered its best results in a decade, and unparalleled value of its global network. Moving forward, as a trusted financial partner, we will continue to support our clients' sustainable growth with our differentiated competitiveness in the global financial markets."

Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker