He’s Mike the Mechanic.

At least that’s how one influential bank analyst views Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat after a year at the helm.

CSLA analyst Mike Mayo, who is also one of Citi’s harshest critics, claims Corbat has the bank headed in the right direction despite reporting disappointing third-quarter results on Tuesday.

“Nobody’s been more negative on [Citi] than me,” said Mayo, who has locked horns with Citi officials including ex-CEO Vikram Pandit. “But I can say that Citi is now more on the right long-term track than at anytime in the past decade.”

Weighed down by weak trading in its fixed income unit, Citi posted profit of $3.3 billion, or $1.02 cents a share, which missed analysts’ estimates by two cents.

Still, Mayo lauded Corbat’s efforts to improve transparency and reduce expenses. The bank’s expenses dropped 4 percent, to $11.7 billion, in the latest quarter.