Banks report mixed second-quarter results
Wells Fargo & Co., the nation’s fifth-largest bank, reported strong second-quarter profits, while U.S. Bancorp, the sixth-largest U.S. bank, saw a fall in profits in the second quarter, Reuters reported.
Wells Fargo’s net income rose 9 percent to a record $2.28 billion from $2.09 billion a year earlier. Revenues rose 13 percent to $9.89 billion.
The company attributed this growth to an increase in fees collected, which offset a decline in mortgage banking income. Fee income rose 23 percent, while mortgage banking for the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender fell 6 percent. Profits in retail banking rose 14 percent and wholesale business banking net income increased 13 percent, while Wells Fargo Financial, which lends to people with lower credit ratings, had a 31 percent drop in profits.
Meanwhile, U.S. Bancorp said profits fell 4 percent to $1.16 billion in the second quarter, compared with $1.2 billion a year earlier, as a result of a decrease in lending income and rising expenses and credit losses. Revenues rose 1.5 percent to $3.51 billion. Fee income rose 6 percent, while lending income fell 3 percent and mortgage banking income declined 9 percent.