Michael Corbat on banking performance
From Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat on Economy, Legacy · · David Rubenstein
“I think as a result of our improved focus and investments, Citi undoubtedly became a simpler, safer, and stronger institution. We improved the quality and consistency of our earnings. We significantly increased our returns for for our investors. And as examples, David, you know, when I took over, I inherited net income of about 7 and 1/2 billion dollars. The end of last year, 2019, that was over 19 billion dollars. Our return on assets went from under 40 basis points to right about 100 basis points. Our return on tangible common equity increased from 5% to 12% closing the gap with our peers. We went from returning really no capital to returning nearly 80 billion dollars of capital to our shareholders over the last 6 years and reducing our share count by about 30%.”
On , Michael Corbat, Former Chief Executive Officer at Citigroup, spoke about banking performance during Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat on Economy, Legacy on David Rubenstein.
About Michael Corbat
Michael Corbat, who served as Citigroup's CEO from 2012 until his retirement in early 2021, discussed the bank's performance and the broader economic environment during the COVID-19 pandemic in several 2020 appearances. He stated that the bank came into the crisis with a strong balance sheet and that its earnings power was demonstrated by revenue growth and reserve building. Corbat said the pandemic was a public health crisis with severe economic ramifications, not a financial crisis, and that the banking system served as a transmission mechanism for government stimulus. He expressed the view that another round of stimulus was likely needed and should be more targeted, and he described the recovery path as uncertain, stating the bank was prepared for a "V," "U," or "W" shaped recovery. Corbat also noted that negative interest rates, while experienced by the bank in other markets, were not an effective policy tool in his view. Earlier in his tenure, Corbat discussed the bank's efforts on pay equity, stating that Citigroup had disclosed raw pay gaps and worked to improve representation in senior roles. He said the bank had increased the number of women and U.S. minorities on his management team. On trade, Corbat said he was not a believer in trade wars and that the U.S. should be smart about its approach to China. He described Bitcoin as a speculative instrument rather than a currency and said he did not invest in things he did not understand.