Citigroup, the world's largest financial services group, saw earnings slip 5 per cent to $17bn last year after putting aside more than $5bn to cover the costs of legal and regulatory problems.

Excluding litigation provisions, earnings jumped 19 per cent to a record $21.2bn. More than a third of the growth came from the release of loan-loss provisions, as the buoyant US economy reduced bad debts in its large credit card business.