Citigroup reports $4.3 billion Q2 profit

US banking giant Citigroup Inc, propped up by US government funds to the tune of $45 billion over six months ago, has sprung back with a surprise $4.3 billion second-quarter profit thanks to gains on its Smith Barney deal.

Citygroup, which gained $6.7 billion from merging Smith Barney into a brokerage venture with Morgan Stanley, said its primary banking businesses continued to suffer from rising credit losses.

The gain boosted net income to $4.28 billion, or 49 cents a share, compared with a year-ago loss of $2.50 billion, or 55 cents a share.

Quarterly revenue rose 71 per cent to $30.0 billion, with the rise due almost entirely to the Smith Barney gain as well as net write-ups.

Credit costs increased to $12.4 billion, including an addition of $3.9 billion to loan loss reserves. That brings the total allowance for loan losses to 5.6 per cent of total loans. Tier 1 capital ratio rose to around 12.7 per cent
 
Managed revenues were $33.1 billion, or $22.0 billion excluding the Smith Barney gain.
Institutional Clients Group had net income of $2.8 billion, up 17 per cent from prior year levels on record net income from transaction services, and strong results in securities and banking.
Regional consumer banking deposits grew in each region versus the prior quarter, with particular strength in North America, where deposits grew 6 per cent.

Total deposits were $805 billion, up 6 per cent sequentially, and flat with prior year levels.