Mixed results for two of the largest US banks, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. The first saw profits grow exponentially, thanks to a marked reduction in legal fees, the cost reduction plan and the good performance of the consumer banking division in North America. The third largest US bank by assets posted a profit of $4,846 billion, $1,51 a share, versus $181 million, 3 cents a share, for the same period last year. Last year's profit was affected by a plea deal with the Justice Department over possible mortgage violations before the financial crisis. Excluding extraordinary items, profit was equal to 1,45 dollars per share, better than the 1,34 dollars expected by analysts. Flat revenues at 19,47 billion dollars, compared to 19,425 billion last year. On an adjusted basis, turnover fell by 1,5% to 19,16 billion, still better than the 19,11 billion expected by analysts.
Goldman Sachs instead closed the second quarter of 2015 with a net income halved to $1,05 billion from $2,04 billion in the same period of 2014. Earnings per share were $1,98, well below the $3,89 expected by analysts due to $1,45 billion in provisions made in the quarter to address to “mortgage lending disputes and regulatory issues”. A rumor that cuts earnings per share by $2,77. Revenues were better than forecasts, equal to 9,07 billion dollars (-1%), compared to the 8,78 billion estimated by the market. “We are satisfied with our performance in the quarter – he commented the CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein "Although uncertainty in the EU weighed on investor morale, many of our businesses continued to benefit from generally improving economic conditions."
