JPMorgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo added profits of 34,442 million dollars (about 32,400 million euros) in the first three months of this year, 3% less than a year before. The largest bank in the United States, JPMorgan, continues to be the driver of results.
It earned 13,419 million, 6% more than the first quarter of 2023, but this increase was mainly due to the incorporation of First Republic Bank, which it bought at a bargain price last year. Without this operation, profit would only grow by 1%. The president of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, spoke of a “normalization” of the interest margin and the cost of credit, which translates into a smaller difference between what the bank charges for loans and what it pays for deposits and others. That normalization, Dimon said, will continue. This means a reduction in free deposits and a transfer to liabilities with a higher cost. Interest expense went from 4,314 to 9,138 million dollars in one year. As a whole, higher payments on liabilities weighed down the interest margin and contributed to a 20% drop in profit, to $6,142 million. Goldman shines in the three main chapters: commissions for placement and underwriting of share issues soar 45%, to $370 million; Those derived from debt issues rose 38%, to 699 million, and advisory fees rose 24%, to 1,011 million. Morgan Stanley's profit grew by 15%, to 3,266 million dollars, due to the 16% increase in its investment banking income and the good evolution of the brokerage desks and wealth management. Goldman surpasses JP Morgan in investment banking fees, which brought in $2,001 million, 21% more than the previous year. IPO activity has picked up, and debt issuances have also skyrocketed. With this, this business is oxygenating the accounts of the greats of Wall Street. Income from investment banking commissions has skyrocketed by 30%.