Citigroup Sees Mideast, Africa Revenue Growth Even as Oil Weighs - Bloomberg

Citigroup Sees Mideast, Africa Revenue Growth Even as Oil Weighs - Bloomberg:

Citigroup Inc. expects revenue from its Middle East and Africa business to keep growing this year even as lower oil prices and political uncertainty weighs on the region.

“We typically do much better than the economic growth rate, given our business model,” Atiq Rehman, chief executive officer of Citigroup’s new EMEA emerging markets cluster, said in an interview. “I am cautiously optimistic on emerging markets” and falling interest rates in the U.S. will be positive overall.

The U.S. bank’s income in the region may rise by a high single-digit this year driven by its markets, cash management and investment banking businesses, Rehman said. Revenue growth may slow to a mid-single digit rate in 2020 after climbing at a compound annual rate of 10% in recent years.