So far, Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) is getting a favorable reaction to its second-quarter earnings report. The international banking giant’s earnings came in ahead of Wall St. consensus targets from Thomson Reuters, while revenues marginally lagged the estimates. Earnings fell to $1.00 per share from $1.09 a year ago, and sales fell to $18.64 billion from $20.62 billion in the same period a year ago. Thomson Reuters was calling for $0.89 EPS and $18.76 billion in revenue.

The bank reported that its book value per share rose to $62.61, while its tangible book value per share rose to $51.81. Even if most book values are a ceiling rather than a floor now, those book value figures compare to a closing price of $26.65.

Citi did put part of the revenue decline on the long gradual exit of the troubled Citi Holdings, where sales were down 62%. CEO Vikram Pandit said that the core businesses are performing well in a difficult environment. Here are some basic numbers for easy reference in the quarter:

• Net income was $2.9 billion
• Basel I Tier 1 common ratio rose to 12.7%
• Estimated Basel III Tier 1 common ratio rose to 7.9%

Citi shares are popping on the news and the pre-market gains are up 2.2% at $27.24 so far this morning. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) both reported earnings on Friday, and these banks are mixed this morning with a gain of 0.1% and a loss of 0.6% respectively.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is set to report earnings this week and it is usually treated more along the same lines as Citi than the other money center banks as it trades at a steep discount to book value and tangible book value. BofA shares are up 0.07% at $7.88 in the pre-market.

JON C. OGG

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