December 21, 2023 | Premium Service | We last looked at Citigroup (C) in our post-earnings snapshot in October of this year. With the release of the Q3 2023 bank holding company data by the Federal Reserve Board, let’s see how CEO Jane Fraser is doing on the road to improved operating leverage and equity market valuation. The good news is that the equity market valuation of Citi rallied in Q4 with the interest rate updraft.
Source: Google Finance
Note that C is in the middle of the pack over the past several months, which is better than being at the bottom of the group with Bank of America (BAC). C picked up almost 10 points of book value since the end of Q3 2023. Why? First came the announcement of layoffs and management buyouts. Then Fraser decided to drop loss-leading municipal bond trading. Most recently, C dropped another loss leader business, ending trading in distressed debt. These moves represent a significant decrease in liquidity in the related markets but are a net positive for Citi in terms of aligning revenue and expenses.
