Citigroup (C) plans to grow its mortgage division as a percentage of its overall business.
According to Bloomberg, during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Secondary Markets Conference & Expo in New York, Jane Fraser, CEO of U.S. consumer and commercial banking with Citigroup, said, “We want to grow. We think today we are below our natural market share,” in comparison to the size of its banking business.
Rob Chrisman also noted in his daily report that Fraser said the bank plans to beef up its correspondent business and is looking to hold new loans on its balance sheet.
Citigroup cautioned that it would still be very careful about the quality of loans it would make.
The bank’s first-quarter earnings came out above expectations after it recorded a first quarter net income of $3.9 billion, or $1.23 per share, on revenues of $20.1 billion, a slight change from $3.8 billion, or $1.23 per share, on revenues of $20.2 billion for the same period a year ago.
The 5% decline in Citicorp revenue was primarily due to a decline in fixed income markets revenue in Institutional Clients Group and lower U.S. mortgage refinancing activity in North America Global Consumer Banking. However, this was partially offset by higher Citi Holdings revenue.
