Citi cuts earnings to cover big legal costs

JPMorgan Plans Bond Offering As Spreads Expand To Most In 2011
Citigroup Inc. signage is displayed outside of a bank branch in New York, U.S., on Monday, June 20, 2011.
Photograph by Robert Caplin— Bloomberg via Getty Images

Citigroup revised its third-quarter financial results to factor in an additional $600 million in legal costs that the bank said it would likely spend to cover regulatory matters.

Two weeks ago, Citi reported third-quarter profits of $3.4 billion, or $1.07 per share, representing a 6% gain year-over-year. But, the bank cut that number to $2.8 billion, or 88 cents a share, on Thursday. The revision puts Citi at nearly a 12% drop in profits, year-over-year, for the quarter.

Citi blamed the revision on “rapidly-evolving regulatory inquiries and investigations,” and claimed that the bank has recently been in communication with “certain regulatory agencies” about matters that were previously disclosed.

Citigroup is one of six large banks that are currently closing in on a massive settlement with the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority over alleged rigging of the foreign exchange market. That total settlement may top $2.5 billion for all of the banks, which also include UBS (UBS) and JPMorgan (JPM).

Citi’s shares (C) were down about 2.5% in after-hours trading following the bank’s announced revision.