Single-family lending slowed and is likely to fall further at Citigroup Inc. Also diminished was servicing and assets. A massive loss was tied to the new tax law.
During the final three months of last year, the New York-based company earned $5.1 billion from continuing operations before income taxes.
The New York-based financial institution revealed the results in its fourth-quarter 2017 earnings report, which said income was about the same as a year prior.
Earnings, though, deteriorated from $6.0 billion in the prior three-month period.
After taxes, earnings swung to a whopping $18.2 billion loss as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“While our fourth quarter results reflected the impact of a significant non-cash charge due to tax reform, the impact on our regulatory capital was much less significant,” Citi Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat said in the report. “Tax reform does not change our capital return goals as we remain committed to returning at least $60 billion of capital in the current and next two CCAR cycles, subject to regulatory approval.
“Tax reform not only leads to higher net income and increased returns, but also serves to strengthen our capital generation capabilities going forward.”
Mortgage revenues during the most-recent three months came in at $197 million. While the total was up 7 percent from the third quarter, revenues sank 22 percent from a year prior.
From Oct. 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, mortgage originations came to $3.0 billion — retreating from $3.2 billion three months earlier
and sinking from $5.6 billion one year earlier.
During all of last year, mortgage originations amounted to $13.1 billion, plunging from $24.0 billion in 2016.
It is likely that business in the current quarter has slowed further based on
saleable mortgage rate locks, which dropped to $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter from $1.7 billion the preceding period.
Third-party servicing was trimmed to $59.4 billion from $61.7 billion and has been slashed from $161.2 billion as of Dec. 31, 2016.
Citi reported $64.2 billion in residential assets, off from $65.8 billion at the end of the third quarter
and $72.6 billion at the end of 2016. Most recently, the mortgage portfolio consisted of $44.3 billion in real estate lending assets, $9.3 billion in residential first mortgages and $10.6 billion in home-equity loans.
Delinquency of at least 30 days on the first-mortgages and HELs was 5.25 percent, declining from 5.46 percent at the end of the prior quarter but worsening from 4.96 percent at the end of the prior year.
Headcount concluded last year at 209,000 people. Staffing was trimmed 4,000 from Sept. 30 and has been slashed by 10,000 from year-end 2016.
Citi operated 694 North American branches, one less than three months previous.
