Citigroup reported Monday a first-quarter profit of $3 billion, slightly higher than Wall Street estimates, as problems with bad loans eased.

Shares of Citigroup rose more than one percent in premarket trade.

In the first quarter, Citigroup earned $3 billion, or 10 cents a share, down from $4.43 billion, or 15 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue totaled $19.7 billion, down from the year-earlier $25.4 billion.

On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research expected the company to earn nine cents a share.

The largest US banks saw their profits surge after they were bailed out by the government in 2008 and early 2009. Record-low interest rates and trillions of dollars in monetary stimulus helped the US economy recover, limiting loan losses.

That helped boost earnings, as banks set aside less money to cover bad loans and even released billions of dollars from earlier loan-loss provisions.

However, revenue growth remains mostly elusive in the industry amid sluggish demand for loans. Meanwhile, home prices were falling again, pressuring mortgage results.

Last week, Bank of America reported first-quarter results that missed analysts’ expectations.

To read more, go to MarketWatch.com.