Citigroup’s fourth-quarter profit plunged 13% as the financial behemoth grappled with massive charges from dumping its Russia operations amid the war in Ukraine, but it wrapped up 2025 on a high note with beefier annual earnings as a surge in dealmaking helped boost investment banking fees.
The Jane Fraser-led New York powerhouse posted net income, which is profit after taxes and expenses, of $2.5 billion for October through December, down from $2.9 billion a year prior.
“2025 was a year of significant progress as we demonstrated that the investments we are making are driving strong top-line growth,” Fraser said in a statement.
Revenues, the total haul from operations, inched up 2% to $19.9 billion, while diluted earnings per share, a go-to metric for per-stock profitability, slid 11% to $1.19.
The lender pointed to a $1.2 billion dent in profits after booking its Russian assets as being prepped for sale as Western firms continue to exit the heavily-sanctioned Russian market.
Citi’s board approved the sale of its Russian unit, AO Citibank, to Renaissance Capital last month, resulting in the pre-tax loss that the company said was largely related to currency headwinds.
Strip out those one-offs, and adjusted net income soared to $3.6 billion for the final quarter of 2025, while net income for the whole year leaped 13% to $14.3 billion on revenues of $85.2 billion, up 6% from 2024.
But there appears to be renewed optimism on Wall Street to strike deals amid a more accommodating regulatory environment that is lifting fee income for lenders advising on mergers and capital raisings.
Citigroup said its own investment banking fees rose 35% to $1.29 billion, up from $951 million a year earlier.
Industrywide global investment banking revenue rose 15% from a year earlier to almost $103 billion, the second-highest after 2021, Dealogic data showed.
Citigroup earned the fifth-highest fees across banks over the same period, according to the same source.
Markets remained volatile in the fourth quarter as investors speculated about a potential bubble in artificial intelligence stocks, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path and geopolitical tensions.
Citi’s total markets revenues fell 1% in the quarter to $4.54 billion, driven by fixed income and equities, while markets revenue grew 11% for the full year, compared with 2024.
Market swings often boost trading income at banks as clients scramble to reposition their portfolios in tandem with global events such as trade disruptions or major wars.
The bank also handed shareholders $17.5 billion in dividends and stock buybacks, bumping the dividend to 60 cents a share.
Scotland-born Fraser is carrying out a sweeping revamp of the company to boost profits and streamline operations. Citi is planning to cut 1,000 jobs this week, Reuters reported on Monday.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
