Citigroup unveiled modest new targets below those of its Wall Street peers, disappointing investors even as bank executives seek to persuade them that the hard part of a years-long turnaround is now complete.
Shares in the bank fell 3 per cent in premarket trading as the bank said it would aim for a return on tangible common equity – a key profitability metric – of 11 to 13 per cent in the next two years, and 14 to 15 per cent in the medium term. The bank employs around 3,000 people in Ireland.
Citi’s chief executive Jane Fraser is hosting an investor day on Thursday, where she is attempting to convince investors that the bank, which has lagged behind peers for decades, can continue to grow once its legacy issues are fixed.
However, the new targets remain far below those of peers such as JPMorgan Chase, which posted a 20 per cent return on tangible equity last year.
READ MORE
Gerard Cassidy at RBC Capital Markets said the “key target ... was underwhelming in the near term” and that the “glide path” to returns of 14-15 per cent “was not as rapid as we were hoping”.
He added that buyback plans were positive, however, and that “directionally it is moving in the right direction”.
PrepayPower are hiking their prices - will other energy suppliers soon follow suit?
The investor day comes four years after Fraser first embarked on a sweeping overhaul of the bank, which led to thousands of job cuts and slimmed down its sprawling global operations.
Citi has largely exited retail banking outside the US, and has sought to grow more aggressively in investment banking and wealth management, poaching bankers from JPMorgan and Bank of America to run the divisions.
Part of Fraser’s restructuring revolves around modernising Citi’s error-prone legacy systems for risk management. The bank says it has nearly completed that foundational work, but remains under two consent orders from US regulators that have weighed on its share price.
The bank also recently appointed a new chief financial officer, veteran Citi banker Gonzalo Luchetti, who previously led the domestic consumer business. He took over from Mark Mason in March. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
