Citigroup, the biggest US bank by assets, reported a smaller loss than analysts estimated after about $7.2 billion of credit-market writedowns.
Citigroup rose in New York trading after the bank said its second-quarter net loss was $2.5 billion, or 54 cents a share, compared with earnings of $6.23 billion, or $1.24, a year earlier.
Analysts estimated the loss would be $3.67 billion, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Citigroup's report follows surprisingly strong profits from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, and disappointing results from Merrill Lynch.
Citigroup chief executive officer Vikram Pandit, who took over in December, has raised $44 billion of capital and outlined plans to reduce assets by $400 billion over the next two to three years.
"The worst news is out,'' said Malcolm Polley, chief investment officer of Milwaukee-based Stewart Capital Advisors LLC, which manages more than a $1 billion, including Citigroup shares. "I don't think it's going to get worse. It may not get better for a while."
Credit Suisse Group analyst Susan Roth Katzke had predicted the company would have as much as $10 billion of writedowns in a June 24th note.
Shares of the company rose to $18.56 in New York trading, from $17.97 at the close on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.
Second-quarter revenue dropped 29 per cent to $18.7 billion.
Bloomberg