Citi Rebounds After Vowing to Boost Revenue in ‘Choppy Waters’
- Banks’ shares reverse earlier decline, climb as much as 2.6%
- Bank began eliminating jobs in the trading division in July
Citigroup Inc. rebounded after executives assured investors that some costs are poised to drop and revenue won’t.
The bank is eliminating positions and investing in new technology that will help it save at least $500 million this year as it seeks to improve an efficiency ratio that’s disappointed investors in the past. While expenses proved stubborn in the quarter, ticking up 1.5% to exceed analysts’ estimates, bank executives said they expect revenue to climb modestly this year.
“As we’ve seen wallets decline, particularly in parts of our market-sensitive businesses, we’ve taken some actions to adjust capacity and with that comes a cost associated with it,” Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said on a conference call with reporters, noting that the bank has been trying to manage its travel and events costs.