Citigroup quarterly net profit rose 4 per cent as a smaller loss on its troubled assets made up for a drop in revenue and profit from its core trading and lending businesses.

First-quarter adjusted net income rose to $4.15 billion, or $1.30 per share, from $4 billion, or $1.29 per share a year earlier, the third-largest US bank said today.

The adjusted net loss from Citi Holdings, which holds the bank's portfolio of troubled assets left over from the financial crisis, eased to $292 million from $798 million a year earlier.

In the company's core business, known as Citicorp, net income fell 8 per cent and revenue fell 5 per cent due to a decline in revenue from bond trading and home mortgage lending.

The first-quarter results were hit by higher legal costs. During the quarter, the company announced that it was investigating a $400 million loan fraud in its Mexico subsidiary.

Total net income rose to $3.94 billion, or $1.23 per share, from $3.81 billion, or $1.23 per share, a year earlier.