US banking suffered in the fourth quarter due to declines in regional banks

New York, January 12 (EFE).- In the last quarter of 2023, at the beginning of the year of regional banks, the payment of government fees related to falls hurt the profits of some of the largest banks in the United States. Like Signature Bank or Silicon Valley Bank.

Although banks benefited from higher interest rates, JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, reported record annual profits of nearly $50 billion.

More than 4 billion of that came from the firm First Republic, which JP Morgan bought at a bargain price during the banking crisis earlier in the year.

Its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, one of the most heard voices on Wall Street, said in the earnings release that the US economy remains resilient and consumers continue to spend.

However, the executive also cautioned that there is a continuing need to increase spending due to the green economy. If this is combined with changes in global supply chains, increased military spending and rising health care costs, inflation could reach higher rates than the market expects, he predicted.

Layoffs at Citigroup

Citigroup Bank will lay off 10% of its staff in the last quarter of 2023 after suffering a loss of $1,839 million due to increased costs, lower borrowing costs and lower revenue.

The company had reported a profit of $2.5 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

According to one of the documents published by the entity this Friday as part of its business results for the fourth quarter and 2023, the staff cuts will affect about 20,000 employees in the medium term.

In a statement, the American entity indicated that despite the loss in the fourth quarter, the profit for the whole year amounted to 9.2 billion euros, compared to 14,500 million in 2022; Revenue for fiscal 2023 was 78.5 billion euros, up from 75.3 billion euros in 2022.

Low profits for Bank of America

The Bank of America firm, for its part, reported a net profit of 26,515 million dollars in 2023, which is 3.68% less than the previous year’s earnings of 27,528 million, due to the contribution to the guarantee fund, among other reasons. In the last quarter of the year.

Wells Fargo posted a net profit of $19,142 million in 2023, up 40% from the previous year. In the fourth quarter of the year, the bank reported a net profit of 3,446 million dollars, which is 9% more than the result of the same period of the previous year.

Investors gave a mixed reception to the data, which is generally interpreted as a thermometer of the economy, and around mid-session JP Morgan rose (0.45%) and Citigroup (-0.83%), Bank of America (-0.83%) fell. – 0.81%) and Wells Fargo (-2.59%).

Big banking results will continue on Tuesday – Monday is a holiday in the US – Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley figures are more dependent on the investment market than the average consumer, and which may reflect Wall Street’s good performance last year.