Citigroup doubles quarterly profits to $4.76bn

Citigroup doubled fourth-quarter profits as consumer and investment banking income climbed.

Citigroup doubled fourth-quarter profits as consumer and investment banking income climbed.

The world's largest financial services company said fourth-quarter net income rose 96 per cent to $4.76 billion compared to a year earlier. Consumer banking accounted for 56 per cent of profit.

Full-year profit rose 17 per cent to a record $17.9 billion, as revenue rose 9 per cent to $77.4 billion.

Profit outside the United States fell 12 per cent to $1.12 billion, as Citigroup wrote down $351 million related to Parmalat. The bank said it has $302 million of remaining exposure to the company, whose links to Citigroup are being investigated by Italian authorities.

READ MORE

Bank of America last week said it had $274 million of Parmalat exposure and wrote off $114 million in the quarter.

Citigroup shares closed Friday on the New York Stock Exchange at $49.50. Through Friday, the shares had risen 37 per cent in the last year, compared with a 20 per cent rise in the Standard & Poor's banks index.