Citigroup profit beats on investment banking boost

Still, Citi improved its results in ways, including expense cutting, that may be tough to replicate in future quarters. A lower tax rate also played a big role in Citi’s improvement from a year ago. The bank’s income from continuing operations declined slightly. On a call with reporters, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason said the decline was due in part to a divestiture last year. But net income rose because the bank’s effective tax rate declined to 21 percent from 24 percent a year earlier. Citi has been investing in digital capability to try to win deposits domestically despite its light U.S. branch network. Chief Executive Mike Corbat said in a statement its efforts are showing positive early results.But the bank is still growing deposits faster abroad than in the United States: International consumer deposits rose 3 percent during the quarter, while retail North American deposits edged up 1 percent.