Citigroup's return on tangible common equity rose in the first quarter, but stubbornly high expenses and costly technology investments may make it hard for the bank to hit its targets for this year and next.
The San Francisco bank is under pressure from investors to get out from under a Fed-imposed asset cap and to hire a new permanent CEO. But executives said Friday that thoroughness is more important than speed.
The FDIC reserve fund is nearing a threshold that will trigger a temporary reprieve on deposit insurance premiums for banks with less than $10 billion of assets.
CEO Michael Corbat will need to lean heavily on credit cards and other consumer business lines, and keep driving down costs, to offset weaknesses in capital markets.
The federal regulator cited recent “cost savings” and promising projections for costs and revenue next year in announcing the reduction in assessments.
The Minneapolis company said in an email to American Banker that it would reduce its headcount by approximately 1%, or about 740 positions, across the company.
