Here comes Citi ...

John Minchillo/AP

Citigroup is set to announce first-quarter earnings results Friday morning.

Analysts are expecting the bank to report adjusted earnings per share of $1.61, a nearly 20% increase from last year.

Here's what else analysts are expecting:

• Revenue: $18.9 billion, up 4.2% from last year.
• Adjusted net income: $4.2 billion, up 10.7% from last year.
• Volatility's impact on markets revenues: After a moribund 2017 in which low volatility sapped trading desks across Wall Street, the markets saw a jolt of energy in the first quarter, whipsawing back and forth on account of, among other things, fears of the US stoking a trade war. FICC and equities revenues are expected to rebound.
• Equities: Citi has seen equities revenues and market share improve in the past two years, and CFO John Gerspach said at an investor conference last month that the business had a shot at hitting $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter, which would be its first time surpassing that threshold since 2015. Despite that, the unit underwent a shakeup this past quarter that saw the departure of several senior bankers.
• M&A: There was $1.2 trillion of M&A in the first quarter, an all-time high. How much did Citi's corporate and investment bank benefit?
• Credit cards: On the retail side, analysts are expected to closely watch revenue growth for Citi's branded cards.

The first-quarter results are expected to be smoother and more constructive for banks in general. In addition to global growth across major economies and the return of volatility, the banks will start to reap benefits from higher interest rates and the corporate tax overhaul.

The fourth-quarter of 2017, by comparison, was noisy and uneven thanks in part to the new tax law, which caused many banks to book one-time losses on repatriated cash and deferred tax assets that declined in value.

For Citi that included a one-time, noncash charge of $22 billion, on account of the new tax law.