JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) & Co., led by CEOs Jamie Dimon and Charlie Scharf respectively, have reported significant profit increases on Friday, attributed to higher interest rates that boosted their net interest income (NII). JPMorgan's NII rose by 30% to $22.9 billion, a phenomenon Dimon referred to as "over-earning," while Wells Fargo's NII saw an 8% increase to $13.1 billion despite rising charge-offs.
The KBW index of bank shares mirrored the positive market sentiment, recording a 1.1% rise. However, both banking giants also experienced a decline in average deposits. Bank leaders expressed economic concerns, underlining increasing credit card charge-offs at Wells Fargo, declining loan balances, and a slowdown in consumer spending.
In contrast, Citigroup (NYSE:C) CEO Jane Fraser reported a modest 2% profit gain despite a slowdown in consumer spending. PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) Services, on the other hand, reported a 4.26% profit drop to $1.57 billion due to higher funding costs leading to a 2% NII decline and an increase in consumer loan delinquencies.
The announcement comes nine months after Wells Fargo's strategic decision to scale back operations. The San Francisco-based bank has been surpassed by JPMorgan, which now leads in US mortgage lending following its acquisition of First Republic Bank (OTC:FRCB). This acquisition gave JPMorgan dominance in third-party servicing, origination volume, and on-balance-sheet home loans.
Wells Fargo had been responsible for one out of every three US home loans following the 2008 financial crisis. However, the bank's servicing portfolios have decreased under CEO Charlie Scharf's four-year tenure due to a January announcement to exit correspondent lending as part of the bank's retreat strategy.
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