Citigroup, Inc.

Hello, and welcome to Citi's first quarter 2026 earnings call. Today's call will be hosted by Jen Landis, head of Citi Investor Relations. We ask that you please hold all questions until the completion of the formal remarks, at which time you'll be given instructions for the question and answer session. Also, as a reminder, this conference is being recorded today. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time. Ms. Landis, you may begin.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, and thank you all for joining our first quarter 2026 earnings call. I'm joined today by our Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Jane Fraser, and our Chief Financial Officer, Gonzalo Lucchetti. I'd like to remind you that today's presentation, which is available for download on our website, citigroup.com, may contain forward-looking statements which are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these statements due to a variety of factors, including those described in our earnings materials as well as in our SEC filings. And with that, I'll turn it over to Jane.

Thank you, Jen, and good morning to everyone. We picked up right where we left off last year with an exceptionally strong start to 2026. This morning we reported net income of $5.8 billion for the first quarter with an EPS of $3.06 and an ROTCE of 13.1%. Four of the five core businesses saw revenue up double digits. Revenues were up sharply at 14%, and we had another quarter of very healthy positive operating leverage. The continued strong performance across our lines of business shows the benefit of a diversified model, which continues to drive consistent, predictable revenue growth. Services, our crown jewel, had an exceptional first quarter. New mandates were up 40%, while the combination of client-driven growth and fees underpinned a 17% increase in revenues. Cross-border transactions were up 12%. Deposits grew by 16%, and assets under custody and administration were up over 20%. Markets crossed $7 billion in revenues for the first time in a decade. Equities was up nearly 40%, surpassing the $2 billion revenue mark, driven by derivatives, prime services, and cash. And FIC, up 13%, saw notable performance in commodities and FX. Banking continued to build momentum, with fees up 12% amidst a record first quarter for us in M&A. ECM was up over 60% while we continued to gain share with sponsors. We advise on the three largest deals so far this year, Paramount, McCormick, and EQT AES, demonstrating how we are far better penetrating the C-suite. Supported by continued investment in talent, clients are increasingly looking to Citi for our advice in addition to our execution capabilities. With revenues up 11%, wealth saw its eighth straight quarter of growth, and its returns continued to improve. Now, as you know, its results now include U.S. retail banking. Citi Gold and retail banking were up 13% as we leveraged our branch footprint to capture assets that our clients have with other firms. Investment revenue grew 11%, with client investment assets up a pleasing 14%. U.S. consumer cards saw 4% revenue growth, with spend up 5%, and delivered a 19% ROTCE, as American consumers remained resilient. With our portfolio heavily weighted to prime, delinquencies and credit losses declined and are well in line with expectations. You can now see how we've lined up the reporting of this business with our strategy as we focus on growing our general purpose portfolio and optimizing our private label portfolio. In the quarter, we demonstrated our confidence with the repurchase of $6.3 billion of shares, and we are close to completing our $20 billion share buyback plan.