Citigroup (NYSE: C) said first-quarter revenue rose 3%, boosted by a pickup in lending and corporate activity and overcoming a mixed result in trading.
Total loans at the bank grew 7% from a year ago to $673 billion, and revenue in the treasury and trade solutions unit, which provides banking services to big companies, rose 8% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, trading revenue was up just 1% from a year ago. The surge in volatility in the first quarter drove a big jump in equities trading, but also scared some investors away from some fixed-income markets, such as Treasury bonds.
A better economy and tax cuts helped banks in the first quarter. So did rising bond yields and higher interest rates, which let banks charge more on their own loans and credit. Sharper moves in the markets — on fears of inflation and a trade war with China — also seem likely to have helped Citigroup trading desks in Q1.
But those fears, as well as fears of a possible conflict with Syria — which President Trump may or may not commit to — have also raised longer-term concerns about the global economy and the banks that reflect its fluctuations.
Bank stocks' relative strength lines, which gauge whether a stock is outperforming or under-performing the S&P 500, have flattened recently.
Loan growth has also been weak, analysts have said. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Brian Kleinhanzl, said JPMorgan is aiming for loan growth this year of 6%-7%, excluding corporate and investment bank loans.
Citigroup shares gained 26 cents to $72.51 at the start of Friday trading
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