Commercial banking

After seeing deposit increase over the second half of March, CFO Dermot McDonogh restated the New York custody giant's guidance for a 20% year-over-year jump in spread income, hinting the company might actually overshoot its target.

Fixed-income trading revenue declined 17% in the first quarter, contributing to firmwide revenue that fell short of analysts' estimates. Overall net income dropped 19% to $3.09 billion.

First-quarter net income rose 15% at Bank of America on strong fixed-income trading revenue and net interest income, which offset higher credit and noninterest expenses as well as an investment-banking slump.

Regulators had their priorities backward when it came to overseeing SVB and allowed an obvious danger to go unmitigated.

Revenue from fixed-income, currencies and commodities trading unexpectedly rose 4% to $4.5 billion in the first quarter, as clients reacted to changing interest rates, the company says. Net income rose 7% to $4.6 billion.

The lender had $2.38 trillion of deposits at the end of March, compared with $2.34 trillion three months earlier. The influx more than offset drains from inflation and customers' seeking higher-yielding alternatives.

The firm reported $13.3 billion in NII in the first three months of the year, up 45% from a year earlier and more than the 42% jump analysts expected. That gain helped counter a surge in provisions for souring loans.

William Demchak of PNC, Brian Moynihan of Bank of America and William Rogers of Truist had their total compensation reduced last year, as stock prices across the industry fell. The previous year, pay for bank chief executives had soared by more than 20%.

The amount of U.S. junk bonds has fallen 11% from its peak in October 2021 to $1.41 trillion, according to a Bloomberg index tracking corporate high-yield debt.

The decrease in long-term interest rates this year has helped banks' bond portfolios recover a bit. Some of them may consider restructuring their securities portfolios in the short run, and longer-term changes are also possible as the fallout from last month's crisis continues.