A surge in profits from Citigroup’s European investment banking operation helped lift the firm to its first quarterly profit in over a year as it became the third US bank in days to report better-than-expected results for the period.

Profits from securities and banking in Europe hit $1.7bn (€1.3bn) in the first three months of the year, accounting for the majority of that group's total profits of $2bn, and contributing to a reversal of the $7.1bn loss securities and banking reported in the first quarter of 2008.