MICHAEL CORBAT

Last week, the bank said it was exiting retail banking in 13 countries outside the U.S., one of the first big strategic moves made by new CEO Jane Fraser.

Companies donated or pledged about $8.2 billion of the $12 billion in total contributions that were earmarked for racial equity — the “first time direct corporate giving to racial equity causes has reached this magnitude” — said Andrew Grabois, Candid’s corporate philanthropy manager. “When George Floyd was killed, consumers and stakeholders called on companies to invest in issues related to racial equity, and many responded,” Grabois said. But traditionally, Grabois noted, large corporations funded mainly educational and cultural groups, while donating comparatively little to racial equity causes. Since late May, Grabois said, financial commitments by companies to racial equity causes have grown “exponentially larger” than any other cause other than COVID-19. At the same time, experts say, there’s no consensus on how to define racial equity giving.

The 25th Amendment states that the vice president can become acting president if he and a majority of the Cabinet declare the president no longer able to hold office. However, if the president contests that declaration, it takes two-thirds of the House and Senate to override and remove him. Two Democratic U.S. representatives worked on a letter Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday requesting that he invoke the amendment, according to NBC News. Last year the group gave an award to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump for "extraordinary support" of manufacturing in America. Vice President Pence, who was evacuated from the Capitol, should seriously consider working with the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to preserve democracy.

Citigroup on Tuesday reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter, as the company's credit costs from the pandemic stabilized. Here's how the banking giant's results stacked up:Earnings: $1.40 per share vs. 93 cents a share expected, according to Refinitiv. However, if that penalty is excluded, the earnings topped Wall Street estimates by an even greater amount. Citigroup reported that net credit losses declined to $1.9 billion in the third quarter from $2.2 billion in previous three-month period. The bank last week agreed to pay the $400 million penalty for failing to address "several longstanding deficiencies" in its risk controls.

Citi and the Citi Foundation announced Wednesday that they are investing more than $1 billion in strategic initiatives to help close the racial wealth gap in America. When looking at housing, data shows that Black Americans and White Americans have a nearly 30-percentage point gap in homeownership today, which is actually larger than the gap that existed in 1960 when housing discrimination was legal. In its newly released report titled "Closing the Racial Inequality Gaps," Citi found that if the U.S. had closed the racial gap for Black Americans in wages, education, housing and investments 20 years ago, then $16 trillion could have been added to the economy. He says Citi's more than $1 billion commitment is "just the starting point" and he knows that "by harnessing the central role Citi plays in local economies and the financial lives of Americans," they can "help close the racial wealth gap and help build an anti-racist economy and society." Check it out: We analyzed 111 rewards cards, and the best one could earn you $2,000 over 5 yearsDon't miss: Why the homeownership gap between White and Black Americans is larger today than it was over 50 years ago

NEW YORK Citigroup announced that Jane Fraser would succeed Michael Corbat as the bank's next chief executive, making Fraser the first woman to ever lead a Wall Street bank. Fraser is currently head of Citi's global consumer banking division, a major part of the bank that includes checking and savings accounts but also Citi's massive credit card business. Fraser will be the first woman to lead one of Wall Street's big six banks. JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon has had women as his second-in-command for years, but shows no signs of stepping down from the CEO role. Corbat turned Citi into a much smaller and stable entity, focusing on its credit card businesses and its international banking franchise.

Thanks largely to the funds set aside for bad loans, JPMorgan's profit fell by half in the April-June quarter, Citigroup's sank about 70% and Wells Fargo reported its first quarterly loss since the financial crisis of 2008. In its second-quarter results, JPMorgan said it set aside $10.5 billion to cover potentially bad loans. Thats on top of the $8.3 billion the bank set aside in April, when the pandemic was only just starting to impact the U.S. economy. Citi, which is heavily exposed in credit cards, set aside an additional $7.9 billion to cover potentially bad loans. Wells Fargo, which did not set aside as much money as its peers in April, had to play catch up this quarter, setting aside $8.4 billion to cover potentially bad loans.

Wall Street had anticipated earnings per share of $1.04 on revenue of $19 billion based on Refinitiv consensus estimates. The bank's consumer banking division posted a net loss of $754 million for the quarter. In the year-earlier period, consumer banking had a net income of $1.3 billion. On a regional basis, consumer banking in Latin America saw a 13% drop in revenue from the previous quarter while Asia sales declined by 4%. North American revenue for consumer banking dipped 1% on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said the bank is "working around the clock" on an online portal for the new $350 billion small business relief program. Banks have been flooded with inquiries from business owners about how the program will work, and small business loan experts have expressed concern that the program will take longer to get up and running than Mnuchin has said it would. Lenders, who are being paid fees to administer the program on behalf of the Small Business Administration, will face pressure to execute the program smoothly. "We are working around the clock to make sure that our portal is set up," Corbat said. "Not just our business, but any business that wants to come to us for help and access to the program that we're up and running to do that."

Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said the bank will send $1,000 awards to some employees to compensate them for the "financial burden" of working during the coronavirus pandemic. "In the U.S., an award of $1,000 will be provided to eligible colleagues who make $60,000 or less in base salary. Outside the U.S., the special award will be based on local market compensation levels." Citigroup, the third biggest U.S. bank by assets, is following rivals JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America in offering lower-paid employees cash bonuses during the pandemic. The move could shore up morale among bank workers like tellers who, because of the nature of their roles, cannot work from home like other colleagues can.

(L-R) Michael Corbat, chief executive officer of Citigroup Inc., Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., James Gorman, chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley, Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp., Ron O'Hanley, president and chief executive officer of State Street Corp., Charles Scharf, chief executive officer of Bank of New York Mellon Corp., and David Solomon, chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs & Co., are sworn in before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on April 10, 2019 in Washington, DC. The group which includes JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and two other banks said in a statement that the pandemic was an "unprecedented challenge." Buybacks are one way for companies to return capital to their shareholders and can help boost the price of stocks. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a press conference on Sunday that the Fed has given "broad, general guidance" to the major banks. The two other member banks of the forum are State Street and Bank of New York Mellon.

Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said Wednesday that the current turmoil caused by the coronavirus isn't stemming from the financial system. "This is not a financial crisis," Corbat said during a White House meeting. The 2008 financial crisis was caused in part by excessive bank leverage and irresponsible mortgage lending. Gordon Smith, co-president of JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank, attended in place of CEO Jamie Dimon, who is recovering from heart surgery. Smith said Wednesday that Dimon was "doing well" and added that JPMorgan customers were still shopping and spending money at restaurants.

Here's how the bank fared compared to Wall Street expectations:Earnings: $1.97 per share vs $1.95 per share expected by Refinitiv. $1.97 per share vs $1.95 per share expected by Refinitiv. $18.6 billion vs $18.545 billion forecast. Fixed-income, currency and commodities trading revenue: $3.211 billion vs $3.09 billion expected by StreetAccount. $3.211 billion vs $3.09 billion expected by StreetAccount.