Citigroup posts $5.1 billion Q1 loss due to $10 billion write-down (AP) (18-04-2008)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup Inc. says it lost $5.1 billion during the first quarter as the pain from bad bets on mortgages and leveraged loans continues to cut billions of dollars from its investment portfolio.

The most recent quarterly shortfall at the nation's biggest bank by assets is not as massive as the nearly $10 billion loss it suffered in the fourth quarter of last year.

However, Citigroup's loss of $1.02 per share is in sharp contrast to its profit of $5 billion, or $1.01 per share, in the first three months of 2007.

Analysts, on average, had expected the New York-based bank to lose 95 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial survey.

Source AP