The major American bank, Citigroup Inc., which is currently 27% Government owned, has revealed that it has ended a profit streak which lasted for three-quarters with a loss of $7.6 Billion, mainly on the back of costs involved in exiting the Government's bail-out program, TARP.

However, the third quarter loss posted was of 33 cents a share, which is much better when compared to the record fall of $17.3 Billion, or $3.40 per share, which was posted for the previous year. As per estimates pegged by analysts, the group was expected to lose about 30 cents a share.

"It's been a tumultuous two years. They're probably done capital-raising, and investors now want some visibility on what the earnings power is", said William Fitzpatrick, a financial-industry analyst with Optique Capital Management.

As far as 2010 goes, Citigroup is expected to struggle a bit over the year, trying to recover from the bailout and combating more loan losses.

But for 2009, despite the loss, the bank has been happy with the outcome. "We have made enormous progress in 2009. It was our responsibility to get our own house in order. We greatly improved Citi's capital strength, reduced the size and scope of the company, and refocused our business strategy to take advantage of our unmatched global network", said CEO Vikram Pandit.