Citigroup profit beats estimates on gains in consumer lending

Citigroup Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Monday, as a tight lid on costs and strength in consumer lending helped the third-largest US bank counter weakness in its trading business.

New York-based Citi is the first major bank to report second-quarter earnings. Wall Street titans JPMorgan Chase & Co , Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are scheduled to report later in the week.

Citi continued to add loans and deposits in the most recent quarter, allaying concerns that a weaker economic outlook was hurting consumers' ability to borrow.

Total loans at the third-largest US bank by assets rose 3% to $689 billion, while deposits increased 5% to $1.05 trillion, excluding foreign exchange fluctuations.

Trading revenue remained challenged. Fixed-income trading fell 4%, excluding a gain from Citi's investment in Tradeweb, while it declined 9% at its equities business.

Executives at leading US banks had warned that trading revenue would be hit by a slump in client activity due to burgeoning trade tensions and uncertainties around Britain's planned exit from the European Union.

"We navigated an uncertain environment successfully by executing our strategy, and by showing disciplined expense, credit and risk management," Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat said in a statement.

Net income rose to $4.80 billion, or $1.95 per share, in the second quarter, from $4.50 billion, or $1.63 per share, a year earlier. The quarter included a one-time gain of 12 cents per share related to the investment in electronic trading company TradeWeb.

Revenue rose 2% to $18.76 billion, while expenses fell 2%.

Analysts had expected a profit of $1.80 per share and revenue of $18.50 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.