Profits at Citigroup rose 9% to $2.36 billion in the first quarter,
The nation's largest banking company posted earnings per share of $1.01,
Citigroup co-chairman John Reed credited favorable economic conditions
"We are seeing good business conditions across a strong franchise," Mr.
Several other major banking companies also reported gains Monday.
BankAmerica Corp., ranked No. 2 by assets, notched a 44% jump in net
At No. 17 Bank of New York Co., gains in securities processing,
"To date, the numbers that have come in have been solid," said Frank
"On the fee side, trading income was strong for many, and the trend was
Results at $690 billion-asset Citigroup included a $74 million
Total revenues grew 11%, to $14.6 billion. Noninterest revenues likewise
The company said it has already achieved $900 million of the $2 billion
Analysts said the bank exhibited revenue growth across its major
"They had a very strong quarter," said Ronald Mandle, an analyst at
Mr. Reed said the quarter's performance has prompted senior management
Consumer banking led the revenue momentum, as it did in the two previous
Credit card revenues increased 40%, to $1.98 billion, and profits grew
Revenues at Commercial Credit Co., Citigroup's consumer finance unit,
"Cross-selling is alive and well," said Stephen Biggar, an analyst at
Branch banking reported a 7% gain in revenues, to $521 million, but a
Mr. Reed said the company plans to expand consumer-oriented operations,
On the corporate banking side, Mr. Reed said expansion was not
Stable worldwide financial markets helped Citi's corporate and
Revenues from corporate and investment banking rose 10%, to $7 billion,
The turnaround was most dramatic at Salomon Smith Barney. Revenues at
The company said Salomon reported record levels of fixed income
Asset management fees at Salomon rose 26%, to $377 million. The unit
Global relationship banking reported a revenue gain of 10%, to $1
SSB Citi Asset Management Group, a separate unit, recorded revenue
Cross-selling for the asset management business was also strong, the
Profits from insurance operations also rose. Travelers Life and Annuity
Citigroup's expenses rose 8.6%, to $7.3 billion, reflecting in part
The company's shares closed Monday's trading at $70.625, down $1.
BankAmerica Corp.
BankAmerica, with $614 billion of assets, said lower expenses, strong
Noninterest income slipped 8%, to $3.22 billion. The company said
Net interest income was flat at $4.65 billion. The provision for credit
Noninterest expense was $4.5 billion, down 5% from a year earlier. The
"We thought results were quite good for this quarter and provide us with
"Loan growth has been huge, activity has been huge," said Mr. Hance.
Mr. Hance said the company is on track to cut $1 billion in expenses
Mr. Hance also said the company wouldn't consider acquisitions until
"All around, it was a very solid performance, highlighted by very strong
"Revenues grew with or without investment banking, and that's a good
The biggest earnings disappointment, Mr. Hance said, was lower advisory
Foreign trading, a business BankAmerica is reevaluating as part of a
Mr. Hance said BankAmerica continues to reduce its exposure in troubled
"I want to underline (that) we want to reduce the risk while expanding
"It is not an exit strategy, it is a refinement strategy," Mr. Hance
Mr. Morford said the company beat estimates primarily because of the
BankAmerica's stock closed Monday at $71.75, down $1.25.
Bank of New York
Earnings per share of 41 cents at Bank of New York met Wall Street
The $64.9 billion-asset banking company said its results benefited from
Noninterest income rose 13% over the same period last year, to $625
Bank of New York has continued to reap gains from its specialty of
Fees from securities processing rose 27%, to $291 million. Trust and
Foreign exchange and other trading revenues dipped 8.6%, to $42 million,
Expenses of $509 million were flat over last year.
Shares of Bank of New York closed Monday at $37.6875, up 12.5 cents.
Mercantile Bancorp
The $35.6 billion-asset Mercantile said it benefited from commercial
Mercantile said commercial loans of $6.5 billion were up 21% from a year
Noninterest income was $225 million, down 8%. Excluding one-time and
The company had one-time gains of $23 million in the year-earlier
Noninterest expense was $225 million, up 2% from a year earlier. Net
"They did a very good job with expenses, and credit quality is
Mercantile is in the midst of a cost-cutting effort, which includes
"Expense side is a short-term issue," Mr. Cronin said. "The long-term
"The key for them going forward is the ability to manage the revenue and
John W. McClure, Mercantile's chief financial officer, said the company
The program "has a heavy emphasis on revenue growth, and we think the
"We will see continued improvement in revenue growth in the last part of
Mercantile's stock closed Monday at $49.75, up 31.25 cents.
Mercantile Bancorp
St. Louis, Mo.
Dollar amounts in millions (except per share)
First Quarter 1Q99 1Q98
Net income $118.037 $114.859
Per share 0.74 0.75
ROA 1.33% 1.35%
ROE 15.20% 16.03%
Net interest margin 3.61% 3.62%
Net interest income 276.8 264.2
Noninterest income 126.4 137.0
Noninterest expense 225.4 220.5
Loss provision 7.4 8.5
Net chargeoffs (7.3) (7.0)
Balance Sheet 3/31/99 3/31/98
Assets $35,579 $35,149
Deposits 24,722 25,233
Loans 22,477 21,763
Reserve/nonp. loans 2.85% 2.81%
Nonperf. loans/loans 0.48% 0.48%
Nonperf. assets/assets 0.49% 0.59%
Nonperf. assets/loans + OREO 0.55% 0.59%
Leverage cap. ratio 7.28% 6.60%
Tier 1 cap. ratio 9.78% 9.20%
Tier 1+2 cap. ratio 12.33% 12.11%
Citigroup
New York
Dollar amounts in millions (except per share)
First Quarter 1Q99 1Q98
Net income $2,362 $2,161
Per share 1.01 0.90
ROA NA NA
ROE 23.0% 22.0%
Net interest margin NA NA
Net interest income 4,851 4,490
Noninterest income 9,219 8,306
Noninterest expense 7,321 6,739
Loss provision 2,777 2,589
Net chargeoffs NA NA
Balance Sheet 3/31/99 3/31/98
Assets $6,895* $7,388*
Deposits NA NA
Loans NA NA
Reserve/nonp. loans 172% 184%
Nonperf. loans/loans NA NA
Nonperf. assets/assets 0.7% 0.6%
Nonperf. assets/loans + OREO NA NA
Leverage cap. ratio 6.2%* 5.67%
Tier 1 cap. ratio 8.8%* 8.38%
Tier 1+2 cap. ratio 11.5%* 10.97%
Bank of New York
New York
Dollar amounts in millions (except per share)
First Quarter 1Q99 1Q98
Net income $316.0 $284.0
Per share 0.41 0.36
ROA 1.94% 1.93%
ROE 24.48% 24.99%
Net interest margin 3.18% 3.20%
Net interest income 436.0 451.0
Noninterest income 625.0 597.0
Noninterest expense 509.0 467.0
Loss provision 15.0 5.0
Net chargeoffs 19.0 5.0
Balance Sheet 3/31/99 3/31/98
Assets $64,913.0 $63,503.0
Deposits 44,838.0 44,632.0
Loans 39,114.0 37,750.0
Reserve/nonp. loans 3.04% 3.47%
Nonperf. loans/loans 0.5% 0.5%
Nonperf. assets/assets 0.3% 0.3%
Nonperf. assets/loans + OREO 0.5% 0.5%
Leverage cap. ratio 7.68% 7.33%
Tier 1 cap. ratio 7.87% 7.25%
Tier 1+2 cap. ratio 11.91% 11.43%
BankAmerica Corp.
Charlotte, N.C.
Dollar amounts in millions (except per share)
First Quarter 1Q99 1Q98
Net income $1,914.0 $1,331.0
Per share 1.08 0.75
ROA 1.27% 0.93%
ROE 16.78% 12.46%
Net interest margin 3.58% 3.81%
Net interest income 4,645 4,659
Noninterest income 3,353 3,706
Noninterest expense 4,453 4,704
Loss provision 510 510
Net chargeoffs 519 516
Balance Sheet 3/31/99 3/31/98
Assets $614,245 $580,211
Deposits 343,317 344,447
Loans 363,102 341,219
Reserve/nonp. loans 2.51% 2.79%
Nonperf. loans/loans 0.78% 0.71%
Nonperf. assets/assets 0.51% 0.46%
Nonperf. assets/loans + OREO 0.86% 0.79%
Leverage cap. ratio 6.47% 5.64%
Tier 1 cap. ratio 7.40% 6.80%
Tier 1+2 cap. ratio 11.17% 11.19%