Citi Posts Highest Profit in Eight Years as Costs Plunge

Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), the third biggest U.S. bank by assets, reported its highest quarterly profit in eight years as restructuring efforts and cost cuts paid off and legal expenses plunged.

Net income rose to $4.85 billion, or $1.51 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $181 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier, when the bank was hit by a $3.8 billion legal charge.

Adjusting for legal costs and some accounting items, Citi's net income rose 18 percent to $4.65 billion, or $1.45 per share, from $3.93 billion, or $1.24 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.34 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was not immediately clear if the results were comparable.

(Reporting by Neha Dimri and Anil D'Silva in Bengaluru and David Henry in New York; Editing by Kirti Pandey)