Tag Archives: Citigroup

While the approaching date of December 25, 2015, meant it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas for many, for Citigroup it was beginning to look like the pre-crisis year of 2006.

A group of Citigroup Inc., investors recently filed a lawsuit against the bank, with the allegations that the bank failed to address problems related to toxic residential mortgage-backed securities.

Citigroup Inc., experienced a substantially profitable third quarter and U.S. Bancorp's earnings marginally increased, while Goldman Sachs fell short of expectations.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently revived three lawsuits the were brought about by the City of Miami, accusing Wells Fargo & Co, Bank of America Corp., and Citigroup of discriminatory and predatory mortgage lending practices to minority borrowers.

Investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs reported their highest first half net revenues in five years at $9.07 billion, according to the firm’s Q2 2015 earning statement released Thursday. Citigroup also experienced significant year-over-year growth in their net income with revenue reaching $4.8 billion for the bank, compared to $181 million for the same quarter last year, according to the bank’s earnings statement also released on Thursday.

Banks were tested under a hypothetical scenario featuring a deep recession with unemployment peaking at 10 percent, a decline in home prices of 25 percent, a stock market drop of nearly 60 percent and together the banks would see a projected $340 million total in loan losses. Results shows the bank’s aggregate tier 1 common capital ratio, which compares high-quality capital to risk weighted assets, would fall from 11.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014 to a minimum level of 8.2 percent in the scenario. This minimum level is higher than the 5.5 percent measure in 2009 and the 7.9 percent ratio from last year.

Citigroup has been trying to sell OneMain since 2011 as a plan the bank has implemented to sell unwanted assets and focus on wealthier clients. OneMain is a part of Citi Holdings, which was created during the financial crisis to place assets that Citigroup wanted to divest or wind down. It provides loans to buy small-ticket items and meet unexpected expenses. The company posted a loss of $2 billion in 2010, but has since been profitable, with profits rising 7 percent to $415 million in nine months. OneMain has 1,140 branches in the U.S.

According to the class-action lawsuit, which was originally filed in September 2008, the underwriters made "material misstatements and omissions of material facts" in the offering documents, which was in violation of the Securities Act.

Both institutions had a rough year in 2014 on the regulatory side of things. In July, Citigroup settled with the Department of Justice for $7 billion over the sale of toxic mortgage-backed securities. A month later, Bank of America settled with the DOJ for a record $16.65 billion over similar matters. The money paid out in penalties and consumer relief in 2014 took a toll on year-end net incomes for both institutions.

Lawmakers are asking why the Justice Department is requiring the lenders to donate money to certain housing counseling agencies approved by HUD as part of their settlements.