Like its universal bank peers, we think Citigroup is significantly undervalued relative to its normalized earnings power. Unlike its peers, however, it has two hidden sources of value, neither of which is reflected in GAAP earnings: a deferred tax asset and a larger base of excess capital that is growing at a rapid rate. We have long admired Citigroup’s global franchise and its growth potential. One of Citigroup’s key competitive advantages is its unique global reach. Citigroup has more than twice as many country banking licenses and direct local payment network connections as its closest competitor. As a result, we think Citigroup is uniquely positioned to offer corporate clients more visibility into their asset, liability and currency exposures, but requires fewer resources to manage the relationship. We would be remiss not to mention Citigroup’s recent Fed stress test results. Although the qualitative results were disappointing, its quantitative stress test results confirm our analysis that the company has significantly more excess capital than its peers. We expect this capital to eventually benefit shareholders either through capital return or smart balance sheet growth.
From Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio)'s Oakmark Fund first quarter 2014 commentary.
