NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s largest banks appear to be weathering the current turmoil in their industry just fine.
Despite a pair of historical failures last month that put the nation’s banking industry into crisis mode, the nation’s biggest banks posted strong profits last quarter, helped by higher interest rates and a U.S. economy that keeps growing and adding jobs even as the Federal Reserve attempts to curb inflation.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted a 52% jump in its first-quarter profits. The bank saw deposits grow noticeably, as businesses and customers flocked to the banking titan after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month. Wells Fargo said that it earned $5 billion, or $1.23 per share, in the three months ended March 31, beating analyst projections by 10 cents a share. Revenue also topped Wall Street’s forecast.
Meanwhile Citigroup also beat analysts’ estimates on revenue, although its bottom line was impacted by one-time losses on some investments.
“These were the most watched bank earnings announcements in over a decade, with market participants scouring the results looking for signs of cracks in the US banking sector. Those analysts looking for signs of the banking crisis were greatly relieved to not find any,” said Octavio Marenzi, CEO of the consulting firm Opimas LLC, in an email.