- JPMorgan, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, and Citi reported earnings Friday.
- Better-than-expected results came in the wake of SVB’s collapse this March.
- Top execs described their response to the banking crisis — and future opportunities.
The biggest banking upheaval since the Global Financial Crisis was no match for the giants of Wall Street.
Even in the wake of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse’s fire sale to UBS, the nation’s biggest banks — from JPMorgan to Wells Fargo and Citigroup — reported higher quarterly profits Friday.
At JPMorgan, first-quarter income rose 52% compared to a year ago. At Wells Fargo and Citigroup, that figure was up 32% and 7%, respectively. BlackRock reported a rise in assets under management from last quarter to some $9 trillion and a 19% drop in net income from a year ago.
The message was clear, wrote Wells Fargo bank analyst Mike Mayo in a note to clients Friday. JPMorgan’s performance, as just one example, “reflects our theme that ‘Goliath is Winning’ in terms of growth, scale, and resiliency.”
Quarterly earnings calls held with research analysts marked an opportunity for Wall Street’s biggest executives to face questions about the impact of the March banking crisis on their firms’ bottom lines.
The nation’s largest banks saw an influx of deposits as customers fled for safety following the collapse of SVB. But only JPMorgan reported an increase of quarter-end deposits on Friday, with rising interest rates leading customers to look for higher returns elsewhere. At BlackRock, that meant substantial inflows into money market and bond funds.
Bank executives also faced questions about their role in shaping the public and private response to the banking turmoil, what sort of new regulation the banking industry can expect following the collapse of SVB, and the kind of strategic opportunities that might pop up with smaller players still under pressure.
Here’s what the leaders of JPMorgan, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup had to say about SVB.
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