Shares of banks and other financial institutions were flat after a mixed batch of earnings.
JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, said it made $50 billion in 2023, a record, but saw growth slow slightly in the fourth quarter, echoing similar sentiments from Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup -- three of the other top 10 banks. Each of the four banks posted one-time charges, dragging down quarterly profits. They collectively set aside almost $9 billion to pay a special Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. fee related to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Citigroup swung to a $1.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter. The bank, which is trying to streamline its sprawling operations, also announced it would cut 20,000 jobs. The four banks charged off an aggregate $6.6 billion in loans in the fourth quarter, twice as much as in the same period a year earlier, indicating that Americans had run through pandemic-era savings and were finding it harder to pay credit cards, mortgages and other debt. There were also major write-offs related to the commercial real-estate sector, struggling because of low occupancy rates caused by persistent work-from-home trends.
Money management giant BlackRock agreed to buy private-equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners for roughly $12.5 billion in cash and stock, a significant push into private-market investments for the world's largest asset manager.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-12-24 1808ET
