Citibank Korea reports 61 percent net income increase in Q1, the highest in eight years

Citibank Korea saw its net income surge 61 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to record its highest quarterly level since 2018.  

Citibank Korea reported 132.8 billion won ($88 million) in net income on revenue of 330.5 billion won, up 23 percent from a year earlier, driven by a 77 percent increase in noninterest revenue from its core businesses, including fixed-income trading, the bank said Friday.  

First-quarter expenses increased 1 percent on year to 156.4 billion won, while the cost of credit posted a net reversal of 600 million won, down 111 percent from a year earlier due to lower credit costs in the corporate banking sector.

Return on equity for the quarter rose 3.81 percentage points to 9.73 percent.

“Despite a challenging environment marked by geopolitical conflicts and increased volatility in interest and foreign exchange rates, CKI delivered its best quarterly performance since 2018,” said the bank’s CEO, Yoo Myung-soon, in a statement.  

"This is the result of significantly expanding noninterest revenue in our core business across Banking, Markets and Services, which we are strategically focusing on, leveraging Citi's global network and outstanding market responsiveness," she added.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]