Latest news with #SaeedAzhar
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Large US banks say consumer finances are healthy despite tariffs
By Nupur Anand, Saeed Azhar and Tatiana Bautzer NEW YORK, - U.S. banking giants said consumers remained in good shape even after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies roiled markets, but executives warned of potential weakness ahead. "The consumer basically seems to be fine," JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said in a call with analysts. The bank set aside $2.85 billion for credit losses in the second quarter, roughly 6.5% less than a year earlier. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo posted second-quarter profits that beat analysts' forecasts, helped by a rebound in dealmaking and resilient consumer spending. "Consumers and businesses remain strong as unemployment remains low and inflation remains in check, credit card spending growth softened very slightly in the second quarter, but is still up year over year," Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf told analysts. Higher-than-expected repayments in auto loans and credit cards prompted Wells Fargo to reduce its charge-offs, or debts that are unlikely to be recovered. The bank also reduced the amount of money set aside to cover potential loan losses. Still, executives also expressed concern about how consumers will weather the impact of higher tariffs on imported goods. U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in five months in June amid higher costs for some goods, suggesting tariffs were starting to have an impact on inflation, the Consumer Price Index showed on Tuesday. It increased 0.3% last month, in line with expectations. Citigroup anticipates spending will soften in the second half of the year, Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason told reporters. "Consumer health remains very strong," he said. "We do anticipate further consumer cooling in the second half as ... tariff effects play through." The bank's credit costs rose to $2.9 billion in the second quarter, mainly from net credit losses in U.S. credit cards. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Large US banks say consumer finances are healthy despite tariffs
By Nupur Anand, Saeed Azhar and Tatiana Bautzer NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. banking giants said consumers remained in good shape even after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies roiled markets, but executives warned of potential weakness ahead. "The consumer basically seems to be fine," JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said in a call with analysts. The bank set aside $2.85 billion for credit losses in the second quarter, roughly 6.5% less than a year earlier. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo posted second-quarter profits that beat analysts' forecasts, helped by a rebound in dealmaking and resilient consumer spending. "Consumers and businesses remain strong as unemployment remains low and inflation remains in check, credit card spending growth softened very slightly in the second quarter, but is still up year over year," Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf told analysts. Higher-than-expected repayments in auto loans and credit cards prompted Wells Fargo to reduce its charge-offs, or debts that are unlikely to be recovered. The bank also reduced the amount of money set aside to cover potential loan losses. Still, executives also expressed concern about how consumers will weather the impact of higher tariffs on imported goods. U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in five months in June amid higher costs for some goods, suggesting tariffs were starting to have an impact on inflation, the Consumer Price Index showed on Tuesday. It increased 0.3% last month, in line with expectations. Citigroup anticipates spending will soften in the second half of the year, CEO Mark Mason told reporters. "Consumer health remains very strong," he said. "We do anticipate further consumer (spending) cooling in the second half as ... tariff effects play through." The bank's credit costs rose to $2.9 billion in the second quarter, mainly from net credit losses in U.S. credit cards. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Large US banks say consumer finances are healthy despite tariffs
By Nupur Anand, Saeed Azhar and Tatiana Bautzer NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. banking giants said consumers remained in good shape even after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies roiled markets, but executives warned of potential weakness ahead. "The consumer basically seems to be fine," JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said in a call with analysts. The bank set aside $2.85 billion for credit losses in the second quarter, roughly 6.5% less than a year earlier. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo posted second-quarter profits that beat analysts' forecasts, helped by a rebound in dealmaking and resilient consumer spending. "Consumers and businesses remain strong as unemployment remains low and inflation remains in check, credit card spending growth softened very slightly in the second quarter, but is still up year over year," Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf told analysts. Higher-than-expected repayments in auto loans and credit cards prompted Wells Fargo to reduce its charge-offs, or debts that are unlikely to be recovered. The bank also reduced the amount of money set aside to cover potential loan losses. Still, executives also expressed concern about how consumers will weather the impact of higher tariffs on imported goods. U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in five months in June amid higher costs for some goods, suggesting tariffs were starting to have an impact on inflation, the Consumer Price Index showed on Tuesday. It increased 0.3% last month, in line with expectations. Citigroup anticipates spending will soften in the second half of the year, CEO Mark Mason told reporters. "Consumer health remains very strong," he said. "We do anticipate further consumer (spending) cooling in the second half as ... tariff effects play through." The bank's credit costs rose to $2.9 billion in the second quarter, mainly from net credit losses in U.S. credit cards.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysis-US bank M&A hopes revive under Trump regulators
By Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Takeover speculation in Northern Trust has revived industry hopes of deals among large U.S. and regional banks, propelling exploratory conversations that could lead to consolidation, according to financial executives and analysts. Talk of potential mergers and acquisitions among Wall Street banks and large regional lenders has increased in recent weeks in a major shift under the Trump administration after regulators under the Biden administration opposed or blocked big deals, according to three senior financial executives who declined to name specific talks or be identified, citing confidential discussions. On Thursday, the Federal Reserve proposed changes to how it evaluates large banks, making it easier for firms to maintain a "well managed" rating by requiring deficiencies across multiple categories before being downgraded. The move could be a boon to bigger bank dealmaking, as firms not considered "well managed" are barred from any acquisitions. "What we've seen from a regulatory standpoint is a lot more clarity and ... a return to a more permissive environment," particularly for mergers, said James Stevens, a law partner who advises financial institutions at Troutman Pepper Locke. Regulators' moves to streamline deal approvals "certainly opened the doors more towards those bigger banks talking about getting together," he said. The sources said that bank executives in recent weeks have become newly emboldened to consider ambitious plans to buy business units, or even entire companies. That increased interest came after BNY approached Northern Trust to express interest in a merger, the Wall Street Journal reported last month, although the target has said it wants to remain independent. Meanwhile regulators approved Capital One's $35.3 billion purchase of Discover Financial Services in April. BNY will report earnings on Tuesday alongside JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. The companies will likely be quizzed about their appetite for M&A during analyst calls. BNY and Northern Trust declined to comment. M&A CLIMBING Dealmakers expect bank M&A activity to climb in the second half of the year. Activity has been broadly flat this year, with 57 deals struck in the first five months of 2025, compared with 56 a year earlier, and was concentrated mostly among smaller lenders, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Major banks seeking selective, or bolt-on acquisitions that add operations such as wealth management, fintech or crypto, will find it easier to get approval from regulators, one of the executives said. But larger mergers involving entire banks that serve similar geographies are more likely to face government scrutiny, including from antitrust authorities, the executive said. Regional lenders are more likely to get the green light for transactions, said Tom Michaud, CEO of investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "There is a clear case for gaining scale, and people are realizing this administration gives them the best chance of getting a large deal approved," Michaud said. "So it's better to do it sooner than later," he said, expecting regional lenders to strike deals more quickly than banking giants. The other three industry executives concurred that deals by so-called super regional banks were most feasible. They cited PNC Financial Services, U.S. Bancorp and Truist Financial as potential participants. Truist and U.S. Bancorp declined to comment. PNC CEO Bill Demchak said in June that he expected consolidation in retail banking to boost industry profits. Meanwhile, Gunjan Kedia, who became U.S. Bancorp CEO this year, said in February that it was focused on organic growth and ruled out M&A "for now." For the six biggest U.S. lenders deemed by regulators as global systemically important banks, or GSIBs, there are bigger hurdles. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, the first and second-largest lenders in the U.S., each hold more than 10% of the nation's deposits and are capped from buying companies that store them. Still, JPMorgan purchased several fintech firms and BofA bought loan portfolios in recent years. Wells Fargo has only recently got out from under key regulatory punishments, while Citigroup is still under regulators' orders to fix widespread deficiencies in risk management. That leaves Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as the largest lenders that could pursue the most traditional M&A deals, the three industry executives said. All the six large banks declined comment. The Federal Reserve's new Vice Chair for Supervision, Michelle Bowman, is expected to facilitate deals because of her support for lighter regulation, the three industry executives said. Regulators are generally going to be open to large institutions expanding, but the approval process will remain extensive, said Katie Cox, a consultant CoxFedLaw who previously served as an M&A expert at the Fed. Participants need to show they meet financial and compliance ratings and hold public consultations, Cox said. The process takes at least a year and could probably be sped up to nine months, she added. Regulators would also weigh how combining banks would affect financial stability, and "that's going to be the problem for the G-SIBs -- if the acquisition of any target is going to exacerbate their current financial stability position in the U.S. markets," she said. "And then there's the competition and antitrust rules." Bankers point to a 2023 example as a cautionary tale of the Biden era's skepticism toward deals. After more than a year of waiting for regulatory approvals, Toronto-Dominion Bank called off its $13.4 billion takeover of First Horizon , triggering a near 40% fall in the latter bank's shares. Industry executives were still watching BNY, which also has GSIB status, to see whether it will continue to pursue Northern Trust or set its sights elsewhere. The approach is being seen as a test case for the administration's openness to GSIB deals, which could reshape the industry because they involve the biggest and most complex institutions, the three executives said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Global banks predicted to get 10% trading revenue boost on tariff turmoil
By Saeed Azhar NEW YORK (Reuters) -Global banks including top U.S. lenders are expected to report a 10% gain in markets revenue as traders cashed in on shifting U.S. tariff policies, according to estimates from analysis firm Crisil Coalition Greenwich. The projections follow a 15% gain in trading revenue in the first quarter for 12 global banks, the data showed. Bank of America and Citigroup executives said last month they expect markets revenue to climb by mid-to-high single digit percentages in the second quarter, following a strong first quarter. When U.S. banking giants report second quarter earnings next week, they could even beat those expectations, executives and analysts said. The gains come after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcements in April spurred volatility in stocks and drove volumes to a record in the U.S. Treasuries market, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb Markets. "Anybody that's in the market-making business, providing people with instantaneous liquidity, is going to benefit," said a senior Wall Street executive who declined to be identified discussing client activity. "Stocks went down, bonds went down, and the currency went down - your portfolio was just more risky, and we just saw derisking." Coalition bases its estimates on 12 global banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, as well as European rivals. "Volatility is the friend of markets revenue," said Mollie Devine, head of markets competitor analytics at Coalition. Some of the tariff announcements were a "positive catalyst" for trading desks, she added. Equities performed better than fixed income and currencies, Devine added, even though stock markets are smaller than those for bonds or foreign exchange. She estimated equities revenues would gain 18% in the second quarter, while bonds would climb 5% compared with the previous year. PATH TO NORMAL Banks are seeing sustained levels of higher trading activities given volatility around tariffs, interest rates and geopolitics, said Mike Mayo, an analyst at Wells Fargo. "The higher trading in the last few years is not an aberration, but more a path back to normal after 15 years of zero percent interest rates," he said. Tradeweb Markets, which operates electronic marketplaces for rates, credit, equities and money markets, reported average daily volume of $2.7 trillion in April, up 38.6% from a year earlier. It posted a record $2.71 trillion average daily volume in March. Activity in U.S. government bonds on Tradeweb's platform surged to a record in April, including the biggest weekly jump since 2001, as yields rose after U.S. President Trump's initial tariff announcements stunned markets. Coalition forecast markets revenue would grow about 7% for banks in its index for 2025, compared to a 13% gain projected for the first half. The 2025 revenue projection of $246.2 billion is the best since 2009, the year after the onset of the global financial crisis, the data shows. Separately, Mayo at Wells Fargo predicted trading revenue would be up 8% in the first half for major U.S. banks, then slow to 5% in the second half and remain in low single-digit percentages next year. "The immediate effect of the tariffs was to exaggerate the extent of trading" and the effect of tariffs will recede as time passes, he said. Sign in to access your portfolio
