Citigroup's profit slumped by 34% in the third quarter despite the amount of money it put aside for potential Covid-19 related losses coming in at around half of what the market was expecting.

The US bank unveiled profits of $3.2bn for the third quarter of 2020, well ahead of the analyst consensus of $1.9bn, as provisions for losses related to the pandemic dropped to around $2.1bn. Citi followed rival JPMorgan in booking loan loss provisions way below market expectations after Wall Street booked over $25bn in the second quarter alone.