Citigroup chief financial officer Gonzalo Luchetti told the Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference on Monday that the bank now expects full-year 2026 return on tangible common equity to exceed 11%, above its prior guidance range of 10% to 11%.
He also said Citigroup had completed its prior $20 billion buyback programme and was executing the $30 billion programme announced earlier in 2026. Luchetti said Citigroup repurchased $10.3 billion of stock in the first half of 2026 and expects full-year buybacks to exceed the approximately $13 billion repurchased in 2025.
BANAMEX STAKE CONTINUES TO SHRINK
Luchetti confirmed that Citigroup's ownership of Mexican unit Banamex has fallen to 51%, with deconsolidation expected in early 2027. He said Citigroup does not expect further Banamex transactions before year-end and expects deconsolidation once its ownership falls below 50%.
The CFO also addressed the bank's cost base, saying Citigroup expects its 2026 efficiency ratio to come in slightly better than 60%. He noted that stranded costs, a legacy of the bank's ongoing restructuring, have been reduced from $1.3 billion annually to about $200 million per quarter.
RETURN TARGETS
Luchetti said Citigroup targets return on tangible common equity of 11% to 13% for 2027 and 2028, with a longer-term objective of 14% to 15%.
The scale of the $30 billion buyback authorisation, alongside first-half repurchases of $10.3 billion and an expectation that full-year 2026 buybacks will exceed the roughly $13 billion executed in 2025, follows the completion of its prior $20 billion programme. The $30 billion programme was unveiled at Citigroup's investor day in May 2026.
Bank news that matters, every weekday.
Follow The Global Banker on LinkedIn