The Bank of New York Mellon said Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income increased 29% from the same period in 2015, to $822 million, due largely to improved expense control and a December hike in interest rates that helped to boost net interest revenue.
Earnings per share climbed 35%, to 77 cents.
Total revenue increased 2%, to $3.8 billion, aided by a 9% increase in net interest revenue, to $831 million, as well as increases in both assets under custody and assets under management.
Fee revenue grew more modestly, at just 0.6%, as gains in custody, management and foreign exchange fees were offset by a decline in trading revenue. Fees account for 78% of BNY Mellon’s total revenue.
Expenses declined by 2%, to $2.6 billion, due primarily to lower staffing costs.
The custody bank has $333.5 billion of assets. Its assets under custody at Dec. 31 totaled $29.9 trillion, up 3% year over year, while assets under management totaled $1.65 trillion, up 1%.