Citigroup fourth-quarter markets revenue trending up 20 percent vs year ago

Increased client demand for trades in fixed income and currencies that began with the Brexit vote in June has continued through the U.S. election, Gerspach said at an investor conference. The demand is coming from institutional investors and corporate clients, he said.

Chief executives from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp said on Tuesday at the same conference that fourth-quarter trading revenue at their companies was up about 15 percent from a year earlier.

Gerspach, who spoke about a variety of topics in a question and answer format, said that compared with a year ago Citigroup was now more concerned about threats to the European economy and less concerned about emerging markets, particularly Brazil and Russia. Citigroup is the most international of big U.S. banks.

As the new United States government looks at possible changes in bank regulations, Gerspach said Citigroup most wants to see no new rules.

The bank would like to see changes in two sets of liquidity rules, which Gerspach said have set requirements too high. While the bank does not want to do the proprietary trading prohibited by the so-called Volcker rule, it does find record-keeping requirements for the rule burdensome, he said.

Citigroup shares have climbed 16 percent since the November election, but Gerspach said the company still tends to favor stock buybacks over dividends because the share price remains below book value.

(Reporting by David Henry in New York)