Mega bank Citigroup (Citi ) first-quarter earnings rose 31% over year ago levels as the firm saw consistent growth in loans and deposits, the company’s CEO Michael Corbat said Monday.

The bank posted a profit of $3.8 billion, or $1.23 a share, up from a net profit of $2.9 billion, or 95 cents a share, a year earlier.

Citigroup income improvement is attributed to revenue growth and lower credit losses overall. Not to mention, a decline in the company’s needed loss reserves to cover bad loans.

Citigroup allowance for loan losses stood at $23.7 billion in the first quarter – or roughly 3.7% of its total loan book. That is down from $29 billion, or 4.5% of all loans, during the same period a year ago, according to the company’s earnings.

Citi’s revenue also rose to $20.5 billion in 1Q, up from $19.4 billion a year earlier.

The company’s net loan loss reserve for the first quarter hit $351 million, down from $576 million in 1Q of 2012.

“Citigroup asset quality remained largely stable to improving in the first quarter 2013 as total non-accrual assets fell 9% to $11.1 billion compared to the first quarter 2012,” the firm stated.