MarketWatch
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. managed to beat Wall Street’s reduced expectations for their fourth-quarter profits as higher interest rates boosted income from loans.
The banks turned in stronger-than-expected results despite a slowdown in overall deal activity such as home-mortgage loans and initial public offerings.
Bank stocks moved into positive territory in midday trades after shaking off losses earlier in the session.
Kicking off the busy earnings day, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned of economic uncertainty amid higher interest rates, even as consumers continue to spend and businesses remain healthy.
“We still do not know the ultimate effect of the headwinds coming from geopolitical tensions including the war in Ukraine, the vulnerable state of energy and food supplies, persistent inflation that is eroding purchasing power and has pushed interest rates higher, and the unprecedented quantitative tightening,” Dimon said in a prepared statement.
JPMorgan Chase disclosed its first forecast for 2023 net interest income of $74 billion excluding its markets unit, which is below the latest Wall Street estimate of $75.2 billion.