Citigroup Meets Earnings Expectations

Earnings Scorecard
Estimated*	Actual	Year-Ago
$0.65	$0.65	$0.56
*By First Call/Thomson Financial

Financial giant Citigroup(C Quote) this morning announced earnings that met analyst expectations for the company's fourth-quarter performance.

The New York-based banking company said it earned 65 cents in the quarter, meeting the expectations of the 18 analysts polled by earnings tracker First Call/Thomson Financial. The analysts expected Citi to make $2.75 for the year; its full-year results came in at $2.74.

Citi said its income in the fourth-quarter rose 11% to $3.33 billion.

The earnings include a charge the company took to reflect certain losses related to its Associates First Capital unit. That business earned $289 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $394 million in the prior year.

Earnings in the banking sector in general are expected to be anemic across the sector. Plenty of banks have already warned of weak results, following months of declining capital markets, deteriorating credit quality and tighter profit margins. Given the dismal mood in the sector, any upside surprise could spark a rally in a given stock. Depending on developments in the macroeconomic picture, the sector could even rise a bit if enough numbers come in clean, analysts say. TheStreet.com took a look at how banks could have a weak week as a slew of earnings are announced.