Citi's Best Quarter In A Decade Came From Chaos Trading

Citigroup's profit and revenue jumped as cross-asset volatility lifted trading and underwriting, though the bank warned geopolitical uncertainty could cool dealmaking later.

Citigroup just posted its strongest quarterly revenue in a decade, as geopolitical tension and tech-stock whiplash pushed clients to trade more and companies to raise capital.

What does this mean?

Citi said first-quarter profit jumped 42% to $5.8 billion on $24.6 billion of revenue. Its markets business did the heavy lifting: revenue there rose 19% to $7.2 billion, with equities trading up 39% and fixed income up 13% as cross-asset volatility picked up. Investment banking was solid too, with revenue up 15% - equity underwriting fees surged 64% and M&A advisory rose 19%, even as debt underwriting slipped. Management warned that if uncertainty drags on, dealmak..