Citi Posts $2.8 Billion Third-Quarter Loss

Citigroup(C Quote) reported a third-quarter loss of $2.8 billion, or 60 cents a share, narrower than a loss of 70 cents a share that analysts were expecting.

Citi said the loss from continuing operations in the quarter was $3.4 billion, or 71 cents a share, primarily because of fixed income writedowns and higher consumer credit costs. A year earlier, Citi reported net income of $2.2 billion, or 44 cents a share.

The quarter included $4.4 billion in net pretax writedowns in its securities and banking operations, $4.9 billion in net credit losses, and a $3.9 billion net charge to increase loan loss reserves, the bank said in a statement Wednesday. ...