Bank profits mostly fall in fourth quarter, but banks remain upbeat on economy and consumer
ABC News
Three of the nation’s biggest banks said Friday that their profits fall last quarter, as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup deal with the lingering effects of higher interest rates and the industry costs of last year’s banking crisis that ca...
NEW YORK -- Three of the nation's biggest banks said Friday that their profits fall last quarter, as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup deal with the lingering effects of higher interest rates and the industry costs of last year's banking crisis that caused the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
But setting aside the turbulence of the banking panic, the banks had a mostly strong 2023 driven by a resilient job market, a U.S. consumer who continues to spend and not fall behind on their debts despite the impact of inflation, and higher interest rates that have boosted revenue across the industry.
JPMorgan Chase said Friday that its profits dropped 15% in the fourth quarter, despite the bank reporting record quarterly revenue. JPMorgan's profits fell because it was required to pay $2.9 billion to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as part of an industry-wide, one-time special assessment by the regulator to cover the government's costs for covering uninsured depositors caught up in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
With that aside, JPMorgan brought in an eyeball-popping $50 billion in profits last year, up from $37.6 billion in profits in 2022. Revenue at the largest bank in the country was nearly $160 billion.
The U.S. economy continues to be resilient, with consumers still spending, and markets currently expect a soft landing," said Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's CEO and chairman, in a statement. A soft landing refers to the Fed's plan to slow the U.S. economy from inflation without putting the economy into recession.
