Citi reports Q4 profit of $1.3 bn

The entity,which is close to repaying bail-out funds it received from the US government,saw its revenues more than triple to USD 18.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010,compared to the same period a year ago.

In a statement today,Citigroup said fourth-quarter credit costs stood at USD 4.8 billion,much lower than the USD 8.2 billion figure recorded in the year-ago period.

As part of restructuring efforts in the wake of the financial crisis,Citigroup was split into two entities –CitiCorp (comprising its core assets) and Citi Holdings (which held all non-core assets).

For the full year,Citigroup recorded a robust profit of USD 10.6 billion,with CitiCorp putting in a strong performance,while the losses at Citi Holdings also narrowed.

“2010 was a year full of milestones and was critical for the turnaround of this institution. Our goal was to achieve consistent profitability and I am very pleased that with our fourth consecutive profitable quarter,we earned USD 10. billion for the year,” Citigroup’s India-born CEO Vikram Pandit said.

Citi Holdings’ assets were reduced by USD 128 billion in 2010. “(Its) total assets have declined by more than half from their peak in 2008 to USD 359 billion and now stand at less than 20 per cent of our balance sheet,” Pandit noted. Stressing that Citi has the right strategy,Pandit said that although the economic environment remains uncertain,”Our future path is clear.”