Citigroup (C) Citi’s 15th Annual FinTech Conference summary

Consumer and market outlook

• Q3 spending rose 11% and loans 6%; 86% of customers had FICO scores of 660 or higher, with spending growth across every FICO band.

• The consumer spending split was described as a “soft K” and receding; unemployment was ~4.1%, while inflation was 3.4%-3.5%, below wage growth.

• Holiday spending was expected to grow mid-single digits, near 5%; consumer sentiment remained pessimistic despite resilient spending and disciplined borrowing.

• Tariff, geopolitical and AI uncertainty, along with gas and airline price increases, weighed on sentiment while consumers continued spending and borrowing in a disciplined way.

Franchise priorities and growth

• The U.S. card franchise serves 70 million consumers and ranked No. 3 by loans; through-cycle ROTCE targets are in the low 20s, with an efficiency ratio near 37%.

• Legacy Branded Cards and Retail Services were combined this year into one unified card franchise and one of the five main businesses.

• Eighteen products launched from 2022-2025; two launched this year, with another set planned for next year.

• Customer acquisition investment is increasing; conversion of the Barclays American co-brand portfolio added more than 2 million customers, alongside plans for more organic marketing and selective inorganic growth.

• Near-term commitments are mid-single-digit revenue and loan growth, with low-20s ROTCE through the cycle; customer acquisitions may take 3-5 years to pay back.

Portfolio mix and revenue

• General-purpose cards account for ~85% of the $1.2 trillion U.S. card-loan industry and are projected to grow 5%-6%; private label is expected to decline ~3%, while point-of-sale loans are growing.

• Investment is shifting toward general purpose; those customers spend ~9x more and borrow 4x more than private-label customers, with similar patterns in the portfolio.

• Interest income is the main revenue source; the strategy targets prime customers who spend and sometimes revolve, balancing borrowing income against credit risk.

• Fee-based AAdvantage and Strata cards complement interest income; retail media was launched to generate advertising fees from access to the customer audience.

• Investment discipline spans short-payback automation, which can return within a year, and longer-horizon acquisitions; efficiency gains are intended to fund growth investments.