Citibank Q1 net falls 4.3 pct

SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- Citibank Korea Inc., the South Korean unit of U.S.-based Citigroup, said Tuesday its first-quarter earnings declined 4.3 percent from a year earlier due to weaker non-interest income and increased expenses.
Net income amounted to 142 billion won (US$131.9 million) in the January-March period, compared with 148.4 billion won the previous year, the lender said in a statement. Compared with three months earlier, however, earnings jumped 68.1 percent.
The lender said total revenue advanced 4.7 percent year-on-year to 401 billion won, but it did not provide operating profit figures.
The bank said its non-interest income declined 14.7 percent on-year to 41 billion won in the first quarter as earnings from handling foreign exchange derivatives fell.
The bank's total assets amounted to 57.7 trillion won as of the end of March, down 2.2 percent from the previous year. The lender's net interest margin (NIM), a key barometer of profitability, reached 2.85 percent as of end-March, up 0.08 percentage point a year ago, it added.
Citibank Korea was launched in November 2004 after a merger between the group's local unit Citibank Seoul and KorAm Bank, then the country's seventh-largest lender.
Local banks began to report earnings results in line with a new accounting rule called the International Financial Reporting Standards starting this year. Under the new yardstick, the rules on calculating banks' loan-loss reserves are eased, which will help local lenders book better earnings.