Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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I think the third piece is that technology, right? And so right now, a lot of what we’re doing is manual. And as we continue to invest in technology €“ and technology is up pretty significantly this year, 14% or so. We expect it to be up 5% next year. That technology build-out, if you will, will allow for us to reduce a lot of that manual activity, and that will bring down the operational cost for running the firm. And so those are a couple of examples, I hope, of the how. But I think importantly, you will start to see it in an improved operating efficiency over that period of time and getting to the target that we talked about at Investor Day.

Jane Fraser: And I would say you can get some confidence around the past on many of these by the urgency with which we’re executing the divestitures, for example, on getting those transactions closed. And we’ve also tried to provide you as much clarity as possible about the timing of when these will be closing and the speed of the wind-downs that we’re executing. So that will help. As Mark said, it’s three big structural drivers of what will be in that curve.

Erika Najarian: Thank you. And Mark, I’m sorry, for misspeaking. I was looking at the wrong borrowing efficiency. I have like 15 slides open in the computer.

Mark Mason: That’s okay,

Erika Najarian: The second question and maybe this to you Jane, I think that your investors have appreciated your sense of urgency with regards to the divestitures. I think the elephant in the room continues to be I think investors sort of expected an announcement on Banamex right now. And I’m wondering if you’re still considering just selling Banamex or are you thinking about different options on the table, such as an IPO?

Jane Fraser: So we’re in active dialogue at the moment. So I’m obviously not going to comment in great detail here. We do continue to pursue a dual path as you’d expect, because both are very viable options here. And when we are in a position to give you clarity but we will do so. I think we’ve been fairly clear about the timing. We are also separating out the two franchises, our institutional franchise from the consumer franchise that we’re selling because we see the institutional franchise is a very important part of the global network. As you can imagine, in today’s environment, Mexico is key for many of our corporate clients around the world for their supply chains. And we play a very important role there. That is a lot of work in that separation. I’m extremely pleased with the progress that we’re making in that underlying work. But we are pursuing the dual tracks and when we have something to announce, we will be delighted to do so.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question will come from Mike Mayo with Wells Fargo Securities. Your line is now open.

Mike Mayo: Hi. I’m still trying to get over at this revenue and expense guidance. So you’re implying you’ll have at a minimum flat operating leverage or positive operating leverage for 2023? Am I reading that correctly? So on the one hand you are not bending the cost curve until late 2024. On the other hand, you’re guiding for positive operating leverage in 2023. Am I reading that correctly?

Mark Mason: Mike, when you do the math, I don’t think it will get to the positive operating leverage in 2023. But we are, as you see on the slide, targeting a range that does reflect growth in the top line. That growth will likely be a little bit less than the growth that 54 number would €“ roughly 54 number would suggest but we are on the right track. And we are getting there in a way that’s consistent with the strategy that we talked about. And we do feel confident in our ability to deliver on the guidance that we’ve put out here similar to delivering on the guidance we gave last year, recognizing there are a lot of things going on in the broader environment.

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