NEW YORK – Citigroup’s profit fell nearly 27 percent in the first quarter, hurt by weak results at its consumer bank and trading business. But the company’s earnings still beat Wall Street expectations.

The New York-based financial conglomerate quarter continued to clean up its balance sheet and slim itself down from the depths of the financial crisis. Citi Holdings, the so-called bad bank that holds most of Citi’s toxic assets left over from the bubble years, posted its seventh straight quarterly profit. The value of Citi Holdings’ investments fell 44 percent from a year earlier as the bank sold off complicated derivatives, bonds and other assets.

These efforts were part of the reason why Citi was the only large U.S. bank to pass the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve’s test for its “living will” earlier this week. Big banks were required to submit a plan to regulators to show they could be successfully unwound in the event of a bankruptcy or crisis.

It’s a victory for a bank that was once known for its complicated legal structure and balance sheet.

“Winding down Holdings has been a longtime goal and shows Citi’s progress in becoming a simpler, smaller, safer and stronger institution,” said Citi CEO Michael Corbat in a prepared statement.

Citi’s trading operations were hit hard in the quarter though, just like its competitors Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase that reported earlier in the week.