More good news for the US banking sector


Last week, JP Morgan recorded a profit of $6.5 billion for the three months to the end of June, up 31 percent from 2012. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo also reported a 20 percent rise in profits to $5.27 billion.

Today it was Citigroup’s turn to report good news, with the bank announcing a net income of $4.2 billion for the quarter, up 42 percent on the same period last year. While this figure is somewhat flattered by a large, one-off charge taken by the company in 2012, it was also helped this year by a large reduction in the money set aside for loans going bad and an accounting benefit related to the bank's debt. The company’s share trading business also performed strongly, reporting sales $942 million.

Michael Corbat, chief executive of Citi, said: "Our businesses performed well during the quarter and these results are well-balanced through our products and geographies, especially in the emerging markets, where growth is being challenged."