New York, July 17 (DPA) Citigroup and Bank of America Friday reported billions of dollars in second-quarter profits, matching a flow of positive earnings from other US banks this week despite being heavily dependent on government loans for survival.

But both banks also warned of still-high credit risks amid the ongoing financial crisis, and their surprising profits were mostly due to one-time asset sales that won't be repeated.

Citigroup announced a net income of $3 billion - $4.3 billion before dividend payments - after six quarters of falling ever further into the red.

The entire uptick came from the sale of a controlling stake in the Smith Barney brokerage to rival Morgan Stanley.

Bank of America reported a $2.4-billion profit in the second quarter of 2009. Before dividend payments, the bank's profit stood at $3.2 billion. The dividend-less profit was down about a quarter from the same period in 2008.

Both banks have taken $45 billion in emergency government loans to weather a financial storm that began in September. Unlike some other Wall Street banks, they are showing no signs of paying the money back.

Their rosier forecasts follow surprising second-quarter profits posted earlier this week by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, both of which have already paid back government loans.