Citigroup Roars into Q1 2025 with Strong Performance across All Business Units
The first quarter of 2025 marked another remarkable period for Citigroup, as the company reported net income of $4.1 billion and earnings per share of $1.96.
According to Jane Fraser, Chief Executive Officer of Citi, the strong performance was driven by consistent execution of the company's strategy across all five business units. Ms. Fraser stated that each business demonstrated momentum, with Services recording its highest first quarter revenue in a decade.
The Transaction and Trade Services (TTS) division continued to show strength in underlying drivers, including U.S. dollar clearing and cross-border activity. Security Services gained market share and expanded its assets under custody and administration to $26 trillion, while Markets had a good quarter with revenue up 12%. The three main fixed income businesses - rates, spread products, and FX - each contributed to an overall 8% increase over last year.
Equities also saw significant growth, with revenue rising by 23%, as the company continued its long-term strategy of augmenting its high derivative share with a larger prime business. Banking was up 12%, with Citi gaining share in investment banking across most industry sectors. Most notably, M&A revenue nearly doubled.
The Wealth Management division also performed well, with all three businesses contributing to overall growth of 24% and fee revenue driving noninterest revenue growth of 16%. The company's focus on capturing assets that its clients value was demonstrated by the roughly 11% organic growth in client investment assets.
USPB (U.S. Personal Banking) was up 2%, driven mainly by increased loan balances and spending, while USBB (U.S. Branch Banking) saw improved returns, increasing to nearly 13%. During the quarter, Citi returned $2.8 billion in capital to its shareholders, including $1.75 billion of buybacks as part of its $20 billion share repurchase program.
Citi's Chief Financial Officer, Mark Mason, highlighted the company's commitment to returning capital to its shareholders and its strong financial position, with a CET1 ratio of 13.4% and tangible book value per share crossing $90.
The company is also making significant investments in modernizing its infrastructure, simplifying processes, and reducing manual touch points. The latest example is Agent Assist, a generative AI tool for customer service in U.S. Personal Banking that helps the team resolve issues faster and is now being piloted in credit cards.
