J.P. Morgan led the pack in terms of overall revenue, recording US$41.9 billion in the first quarter. It was followed by Bank of America, with US$25.8 billion, and Citi, with US$21.1 billion.
Commenting on the quarter, Brian Moynihan, chair and CEO at Bank of America, said: “Our businesses performed well, adding clients and deepening relationships. Bank of America’s sales and trading businesses continued their strong 2023 momentum this quarter, reporting
the best first quarter in over a decade. Continued strong earnings and strong expense management both position our company to continue to drive our market leading positions across our businesses.”
Considering net income J.P. Morgan saw the greatest results (US$13.4 billion), followed by Bank of America (US$8 billion), Wells Fargo (US$4.6 billion) and Goldman Sachs (US$4 billion). Citi trailed with US$3.4 billion.
Charlie Scharf, CEO of Wells Fargo, commented, “Our solid first quarter results demonstrate the progress we continue to make to improve and diversify our financial performance. The
investments we are making across the franchise contributed to higher revenue versus the fourth quarter as an increase in noninterest income more than offset an expected decline in net interest income.”
Goldman Sachs saw the most lucrative quarter in equities trading, with revenue of US$3.3 billion. The bank had a significant lead on first runner-up J.P. Morgan, which recorded US$2.6 billion over the three months. Bank of America noted US$1.8 billion, and Citi US$1.2 billion. Despite success in overall net income, Wells Fargo fell behind with US$450 million in equities trading revenue.
David Solomon, Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO stated: “Our first quarter results reflect the strength of our interconnected franchises and the earnings power of Goldman Sachs. We continue to execute on our strategy, focusing on our core strengths to serve our clients
and deliver for our shareholders.”
Looking ahead, Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan, warned that although several economic indicators are favourable “we remain alert to a number of significant uncertain forces. First, the global landscape is unsettling – terrible wars and violence continue to cause suffering, and geopolitical tensions are growing.
“Second, there seems to be a large number of persistent inflationary pressures, which may likely continue. And finally, we have never truly experienced the full effect of quantitative tightening on this scale. We do not know how these factors will play out, but we must prepare the firm for a wide range of potential environments to ensure that we can consistently be there for clients.”
©Markets Media Europe 2024
