Citigroup Q3 net rises, boosted by accounting gain

Citigroup Inc reported higher third-quarter earnings on Monday as the bank set aside less money to cover bad loans and recorded an accounting gain banks can take in turbulent markets.

Citigroup, the third-largest US bank by assets, reported net income of $3.77 billion, or $1.23 per share, up from $2.17bn, or 72 cents per share, a year earlier.

The latest results included a pre-tax gain of $1.9bn, or 39 cents per share, due to the bank's widening credit spreads during the quarter.

Excluding that gain, Citi earned $2.6bn, or 84 cents per share.

It was not immediately clear if the results were comparable with analysts' average earnings forecast of 81 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The bank - which received two US government bailouts at the height of the financial crisis - is seeing its problem loan portfolio shrink.

Nonaccrual loans fell to $7.95bn from $12.46bn in the same quarter last year.

The bank's share price has fallen about 40 per cent this year, in line with declines for other large banks.

Citigroup shares rose one per cent in premarket trading to $28.67 after the quarterly results were announced.