Citigroup Inc. set aside $600 million in provisions to cover legal expenses related to an ongoing investigation over allegations that the bank manipulated the currency market.
The bank said it is in negotiation talks with UK regulators, while cooperating with criminal and antitrust investigations by the Justice Department.
Citigroup is one of the six banks expected to go into a joint settlement with the Financial Conduct Authority, a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom. The value of the agreement is estimated to be about £1.5 billion and in mid-November, sources familiar with the situation have said.
Barclays, UBS and JPMorgan have also set provisions to cover any potential fines. Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC are expected to also join the trend, as they report on Friday and Monday respectively.
Citigroup said the charge “resulted from rapidly evolving regulatory inquiries and investigations, including very recent communications with certain regulatory agencies related to previously disclosed matters”. The company disclosed another $951 million in legal costs earlier this month.
Rohan Ramchandani, a trader at Citigroup, lost his job, among 24 other people who have been suspended, fired or put on leave since the accusations of manipulating the foreign exchange market.
On Thursday the biggest U.S. bank reported an adjusted third-quarter net income of $2.84 billion, a 17% decrease compared to the $3.44 billion that Citigroup announced on October 14th. Earnings per share fell from $1.07 to $0.88.
Citigroup is also being investigated over allegations of manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).
Citigroup, like most banks, does not reveal details around how much provisions in total has set aside for future legal costs. Before Thursdays announcement analysts at Bernstein Research had projected a $2.5 billion reserves of the bank at the end of the third quarter.
Citigroup Inc. gained 0.95% on Thursday and closed at $53.15, marking a one-year increase of 6.53%. The company is valued at $161.02 billion. Meanwhile in Frankfurt, the stock fell as much as 1.43% in the Friday morning trading session, but recovered to a loss of 0.20% at €41.92 at 08:09 GMT. According to the Financial Times, the 24 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Citigroup Inc. have a median target of $59.50, with a high estimate of $67.00 and a low estimate of $51.00. The median estimate represents a 11.95% increase from the last price of $53.15.
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