Citi sees quarterly investment banking slide, markets business rise

People today wander beneath a Citibank department emblem in the fiscal district of San Francisco, California July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Image

June 15 (Reuters) – Citigroup (C.N) international head of markets Andy Morton advised an trader convention on Wednesday that he expected a decline of as substantially as 55% in the bank’s investment decision banking business this quarter and an maximize of around 25% in its markets business enterprise.

Citi was outperforming the S&P 500’s bank index (.SPXBK), up 1% on the working day, with the firm’s shares last up 2.6% at $47.14 looking established for its next straight working day of gains following a four-day provide-off in which it dropped far more than 12%.

Morton, speaking throughout the webcast of a Morgan Stanley convention, claimed a slump in issuance and in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) owing to the macro financial and geopolitical problem have been powering the financial commitment banking decline.

“Our belief is that the wallet is down 50%-55% in investment banking, and our assessment is that we’re heading to arrive in appropriate all over that those form of stages,” Morton stated.

But he claimed Citi’s marketplaces organization was a different story thanks to market place volatility across all belongings including commodities and foreign exchange, 1 of its essential segments.

Morton said his present estimate was for a next-quarter calendar year-more than-12 months revenue maximize “north of 25%” in marketplaces, even though the executive stated volatility also meant the problem could adjust speedily.

“Just provided the volatility, you know, even in two months, when you’re owning moves like we are having in the very last number of times or so, that range could of course fluctuate,” he said, incorporating corporate activity was up about a third for the 2nd quarter.

Due to the fact Citi’s fastened money marketplaces company was a lot more substantial than its fairness organization, the executive claimed Citi was searching for “very low hanging fruit” to increase in equities, which includes looking for to safe equities company from its fastened earnings shoppers.

Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Sinéad Carew Modifying by Edmund Blair

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