Citigroup swings to profit in Q1

Citigroup saw $1.59 billion in net income in the first quarter of 2009, compared with a net loss of $8.29 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, and of $5.11 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.

Results were primarily driven by the securities and banking area, which saw revenues of $7.2 billion, driven by strong trading results, and were helped by lower writedowns within the securities and banking area. However, the bank reported a bottom-line loss of $0.18 per share, after the payment of $2.6 billion associated with January's issue of preferred stock.

Citigroup had a Tier I capital ratio of 11.8% in the first quarter, down from 11.9% in the fourth quarter of 2008, largely due to consolidation of $82 billion of card-related securitisation assets for regulatory capital purposes.

The bank has continued efforts to reduce costs - which included slashing 13,000 jobs in the first three months of the year.

See also: JP Morgan investment banking reports record profits
UBS continues losing streak into Q1