CITIGROUP, the financial services giant, is toasting a 35 per cent surge in third-quarter profits as growth in investment banking and a gain from the sale of insurance businesses helped offset consumer banking weakness and the impact of Hurricane Katrina.

At the consumer banking arm, the narrowing gap between long and short-term rates crimped margins and a pick-up in bankruptcy filings increased credit costs. The quarterly results included a £1.2bn gain for the July 1 sale of Travelers Life & Annuity and most of Citigroup's international insurance business to MetLife Inc. Meanwhile, the bank took a charge of some £126 million from Katrina.

Chief executive Charles Prince said the corporate and investment bank posted record revenue in transaction services and strong growth in several other areas.

This is cache, read story here