Earnings dip at Citigroup, Wells Fargo

US banks Citigroup and Wells Fargo reported a dip in second-quarter earnings Friday as low interest rates and the drag from bad oil-industry loans hit results.

Earnings at the two large banks were boosted by solid overall lending performance and higher revenues in some categories, such as a rise in fixed-income trading at Citigroup.

But both alluded to a difficult business environment due to low and negative interest rates and the June 23 vote by Britain to leave the European Union.

Citigroup's net income fell 17.5 percent to $4.0 billion. Revenues were $17.6 billion, down 9.9 percent.

Wells' Fargo's net income was $5.6 billion, down 2.8 percent from the year-ago period. Revenues were up 4.0 percent to $22.2 billion.

Total loans at Citigroup inched up by $2 billion to $634 billion. Citigroup's allowance for bad loans declined to $12.3 billion from $14.1 billion in the year-ago period, but included a higher share for the energy sector.

"These results demonstrate our ability to generate solid earnings in a challenging and volatile environment," said Citigroup chief executive Michael Corbat.

Overall loans at Wells Fargo rose 7.7 percent to $957.2 billion. Wells Fargo's allowance for loan losses fell slightly, but the bank said its results in the oil and gas portfolio remained "under pressure" due to the effects of low oil prices.

Shares of Citigroup rose 1.4 percent in pre-market trade to $45.09, while Wells Fargo shares fell 0.8 percent to $48.55.