Citigroup : boosts guidance to reflect improved tax outlook

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc.'s chief financial officer said on Wednesday the bank expects to exceed its previous targets for returns on shareholder equity and cost savings, helped in part by tax reform.

Speaking at a conference John Gerspach said the bank now expects return on average tangible common shareholders equity to be 13.5 percent by 2020 and 16 percent long term, up from previous guidance of about 11 percent. The bank also raised its cost savings estimate by $300 million to $2.8 billion by 2020 and said it expects a new tax rate of below 24 percent over time.

For the current quarter, Gerspach said total fixed income and trading revenue will likely be flat to slightly higher while investment banking revenue will be slightly lower to reflect volumes and transactions that may close in the fourth quarter.

(Reporting by Imani Moise; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

By Imani Moise