- Excepting Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Citigroup 's (NYSE:C) share price has lagged that of big bank peers since CEO Michael Corbat took over nearly 5 years ago. ROE remains lame - just 7.4% in Q1 - and the stock trades at just 85% of book value, the weakest valuation among peers.
- Corbat's focus has been on narrowing Citi's focus - exiting non-core businesses and slashing the number of corporate clients to 14K from 30K. Investors are ready for the next stage of the story - growth.
- For now, the bank's biggest bet has been on credit cards - most notably evident in winning the Costco (NASDAQ:COST) business from AmEx. Citi now has the largest card lending portfolio of any U.S. bank, with card lending making up 24% of total bank loans - nearly double the ratio of BofA and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), according to Bernstein.
- In a departure from practice over nearly the last decade, Citi is holding an investor day in July, where Corbat will have a chance to change the perception among some that he and his team don't have a vision for a return to growth.
- Source: Telis Demos in the WSJ
- Now read: Citigroup Has Its Act Together, But Where Does The Stock Go?
Original article