Citigroup Inc. reported a sharply higher profit in the first quarter on Thursday, saying it was shutting down most of its consumer banking operations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The bank earned $ 7.9 billion or $ 3.62 per share, well above the $ 2.60 per share forecast by analysts surveyed by FactSet. A year earlier, Citigroup reported quarterly earnings of approximately $ 2.5 billion or $ 1.05 per share.
Citigroup also said it would end its consumer operations in 13 countries, mostly across Asia, to focus on wealth management and other businesses.
Jane Fraser, who took over as CEO last month, said in a statement that the consumer banks are excellent businesses, but “we do not have the scale we need to compete.” She said Citigroup will continue to invest in wealth management and in the businesses that work with business clients in Asia.
Citigroup is a giant on Wall Street, but it is relatively small in U.S. consumer banking, a combination that some analysts and investors have criticized. Fraser said in January that the bank would restructure the businesses that run money for affluent customers with the goal of reaching customers earlier and keeping them richer. The bank said on Thursday it would operate consumer banking services in four “wealth centers”, where it expects strong growth for the wealth management business: Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and London.