Citibank Korea Q1 net drops 22 pct

SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- Citibank Korea Inc., the local unit of Citibank Inc.,
said Friday its first-quarter earnings slumped 22.4 percent due to higher
loan-loss reserves.

Net income stood at 116.3 billion won (US$92.2 million) in the January-March
quarter, compared with 149.8 billion won for the same period last year, the
lender said. From the previous quarter, however, its net profit jumped 55.1
percent, it said.
Revenue grew 5.8 percent on-year to reach 485.5 billion won, according to
Citibank Korea.
"An economic downturn and credit squeeze in Korea and abroad sharply increased
loan-loss reserves, resulting in decreased net profit," the lender said in a
statement.
The lender said it set aside 130.1 billion won in reserves against risky loans in
the first quarter, compared with 40 billion won a year earlier.
The ratio of non-performing loans against total lending jumped to 1.66 percent as
of the end of March, from 1.24 percent three month earlier.
The lenders' capital adequacy ratio, a key measure of financial strength, stood
at 12.6 percent at the end of March. Its net interest margin, which measures
profitability from lending, dropped to 2.86 percent in the first quarter from
3.56 percent the previous quarter.
Citibank's total assets climbed to 67.7 trillion won as of end-March, it said.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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