Citigroup Inc, in the midst of a pullback from consumer banking in a number of international markets, eked out a slim fourth-quarter profit after taking charges of $3.5 billion to settle legal claims and overhaul operations.
The total charges matched the figure foreshadowed by Chief Executive Mike Corbat in December, but the earnings fell short of the average market estimate.
Adjusted net income fell to $346 million, or 6 cents per share, from $2.60 billion, or 82 cents per share, a year earlier, the No. 3 US bank by assets said.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of 9 cents per share, including charges, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Citi's shares were little changed in premarket trading.
Adjusted revenue fell 0.8 percent, largely due to the strong US dollar and weaker results from fixed-income trading.
Citi is the most international of the big US banks, with about half of its business coming from abroad.
"While the overall results for 2014 fell short of our expectations, we did make significant progress on our top priorities ...," Corbat said in a statement. "Although we made some difficult decisions ... I believe they allowed us to put our franchise in a position to have a successful 2015."
With fixed-income markets remaining tough, Citi's forecast of a 5 percent decline in markets revenue in the quarter turned into a 16 percent drop. J. P Morgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp also reported declines in fixed-income revenue.
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