Finance

Goldman Sachs Group posted a surprise jump in its trading business, rounding out a stellar quarter for Wall Street’s biggest banks.

Charlie Scharf faced tough questions Thursday in the wake of a recent $250 million fine. Analysts did not get the clarity they sought on how much longer the bank will be constrained by a three-year-old consent order with the Fed.

In a bid to boost fee income, the Minneapolis company is upgrading its payments technology to allow businesses to manage inventory, payroll and other functions — as well as make payments — all in one place. The tech is modeled after an offering from Square.

Jane Fraser told analysts the company will spend what’s necessary to satisfy regulators’ concerns about risk management and internal controls. That includes incentives to encourage senior executives to resolve the problems promptly.

The company posted a 58% increase in net income, fueled by increased loan demand from both consumers and businesses, as pandemic fears ease. It expects strong GDP growth through next year.

Citigroup’s equities traders surpassed analyst estimates for a fifth straight quarter, adding to signs that investments in expanding the business are starting to take hold.

Wells Fargo beat analysts’ expectations for third-quarter profit, another positive sign for Chief Executive Charlie Scharf’s turnaround efforts, but expenses were higher than anticipated and loans fell.

Bank of America beat analysts’ earnings estimates as fees climbed at the company’s dealmaking unit, boosted by a record-breaking period for mergers and acquisitions.

Spending on cards continued to increase during the third quarter, while loan balances rose slightly and payment rates began to return to more normal levels. A top company executive expressed confidence that loan growth will pick up but said, “It’s going to take time.”

The San Francisco bank reported a 26% increase in its third-quarter earnings, thanks to robust single-family, multifamily and commercial real estate loan activity in New York, Boston and its home city.

Total loans increased 6% from a year earlier, driven by gains in the company's asset- and wealth-management arm and corporate and investment bank, though consumer and commercial lending fell. Fees from advising on merger and acquisition deals almost tripled.

The country's biggest financial companies are well represented in the ranking. Citigroup leads the way, followed by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

In 2020, a year marked by deep economic crisis, Pedroso led her team to execute $16.9 billion of lending overall, up 9% from the previous year.

Erdoes has seen huge gains in diversity throughout her 25-year tenure. Now, she says it's time for the industry to help shape the same sort of change in the broader world.

Portney’s recent track record has allowed her to be more confident in her role chief executor of BNY Mellon’s global financial strategy.

While crypto and decentralized finance will likely not replace the traditional systems of banking and finance, the industry needs to get ahead of the curve, Chakar said.

McLaughlin pledged to improve diversity within the capital markets division she runs and across PNC Financial Services Group more widely.

Last year, Browning’s team constructed disruptive research that brings new metrics to the evaluation of economies, markets, strategies and asset classes.

Zapparoli oversaw many of the highest-profile deals to hit the market last year, including multiple tech IPOs.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Monaco realized that hundreds of her team's public sector clients around the globe would have to radically alter their operations.