Citigroup profit leaps as legal bill shrinks

[January 15, 2016]  (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc, the No.3 U.S. bank by assets, reported a massive jump in quarterly profit as costs plunged from a year earlier, when the bank took $3.5 billion in legal and repositioning charges.

Citi, which has been restructuring to focus on more profitable businesses and promising markets, said net profit rose to $3.34 billion, or $1.02 per share, in the fourth quarter from $344 million, or 6 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the bank earned $3.45 billion, or $1.06 per share, compared with $340 million, or 6 cents per share.

Analysts had expected earnings of $1.05 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was not immediately clear if the results reported on Friday were comparable.

(Reporting by Sweta Singh and David Henry; Editing by Kirti Pandey)

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