The three US banks that announced their results today reported a successful quarter.
Citigoup’s after-tax earnings increased fivefold, Bank of America’s earnings nearly tripled, and Wells Fargo posted a profit after the previous year’s loss. The results of the three financial institutions exceeded analysts’ expectations. The significant decrease in banks’ provision for bad loans was a significant contribution to the quarterly improvement in earnings.
Citigroup said its after-tax earnings were $6.2 billion, up $2.85 per share from $1.1 billion in the second quarter of last year after earnings per share were 38 cents. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.97 per share for the quarter ending in June. The bank said it released $2.4 billion in provisions for bad loans during the quarter.
Bank of America quarterly earnings jumped from $3.28 billion, from $37 a share to $8.96 billion and $1.03 a share. Analysts averaged earnings per share of 77 cents. The volume of released reserves amounted to $2.2 billion.
Wells Fargo reported earnings of $6.04 billion, $1.38 a share, for the second quarter of this year, after a loss of $3.85 billion, $1.01 a share a year earlier. Experts expected a lower earnings per share of 98 cents. The bank issued $1.6 billion in reserves.
