Korea Citibank posted its biggest quarterly results in eight years since 2018. It was driven by growth in noninterest revenue centered on corporate finance such as foreign exchange and derivatives.
On the 15th, Korea Citibank said net income for the first quarter totaled 132.8 billion won. That was up 61% from the same period a year earlier and marked the strongest quarterly results since 2018.
First-quarter total revenue was 330.5 billion won, up 23% from a year earlier. Noninterest revenue centered on corporate finance in foreign exchange, derivatives, and securities surged 77%, lifting results.
Profitability indicators also improved. Return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) were 0.98% and 9.73%, respectively, up 0.26 percentage points (p) and 3.81 p from a year earlier.
However, the BIS capital adequacy ratio and common equity tier 1 ratio fell to 28.12% and 27.2%, respectively, down 5.23 p and 5.13 p from a year earlier. As market volatility expanded and customer demand increased, derivative assets grew, inflating risk-weighted assets.
Yoo Myung-soon, head of Korea Citibank, said, "Despite a challenging market environment, including heightened geopolitical tensions and greater volatility in interest and exchange rates, we achieved our best quarterly results since 2018," and added, "Based on Citi's global network and market response capabilities, we significantly increased noninterest revenue in key business institutional sectors such as foreign exchange, capital markets, and securities services."