The custody bank is managing expectations about its 2024 performance while assuring investors that profits will improve significantly in the medium term. AI is one path it's pursuing.

Jane Fraser says this year will be "critical" for the megabank, which is engaged in a massive, multiyear restructuring that involves cutting 20,000 jobs by the end of 2026.

The San Francisco-based bank warned for months that charge-offs were likely to start rising as some office-related loans went bad. It began to happen in the fourth quarter, which could be an omen for regional banks that have larger concentrations in the office sector.

Personal spending chugged along in the fourth quarter, thanks to the resilient job market. But loan charge-offs rose, and higher interest rates suppressed loan demand, executives say.

After a record-breaking year of reeling in business from failed banks and scared customers defecting from rivals, the largest U.S. bank expects it will keep getting larger.

The company spent $15.8 billion in the fourth quarter, down 2% from a year earlier, while analysts had estimated an 11% drop. Severance expenses and a special deposit insurance assessment contributed $3 billon to that total.

The decline in profit came mainly from a $2.1 billion FDIC assessment and a $1.6 billion charge tied to the shift away from LIBOR.

JPMorgan Chase closed out the most profitable year in U.S. banking history with its seventh consecutive quarter of record net interest income and a surprise forecast that the windfall may continue this year. 

When big banks kick off earnings season on Friday, industry observers will be paying close attention to loan growth, deposit growth, expense growth, credit quality and capital ratios. All five areas will offer clues about the industry's trajectory in 2024.

The company is poised to report quarterly earnings this week that are expected to reveal revenue growth at seven times the average pace of its peers.  

The majority of those affected are in support functions, reflecting the removal of management layers and improved technology and automation capabilities, the company says.

Bank investors hope they can party like it's 1995, when the U.S. economy stayed healthy even after aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes. But a few analysts are a bit more cautious over whether banks' loan books will hold up as well this time.

After a year marred by the biggest US bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis, the nation's largest lender is on familiar footing — scooping up a rival, reeling in its clients and minting record profits along the way.

Funding pressures moderated in recent months, but loan charge-offs climbed. With festering concerns about a vulnerable economy, the potential for elevated credits costs could loom large over the upcoming bank earnings season.

The Michigan City company, part of a growing list of banks announcing similar overhauls, aims to sell nearly $400 million of securities and reinvest the proceeds in higher-yielding loans.

The world's largest credit union reported a 5% increase in total loans in the third quarter while lending at the largest banks was almost stagnant. However, the Vienna, Virginia, institution's charge-offs also jumped significantly.

Top industry executives said this week that price increases are abating, even if they haven't yet fully abated. Their remarks reflect increased confidence that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady — or perhaps even cut them — in the first half of 2024.

The North Carolina-based bank is considering the idea of selling a portion of its securities portfolio as a way to build capital, CEO Bill Rogers said Tuesday. At the end of the third quarter, Truist's securities were worth about 20% less than what the company paid for them.

The Toronto-based company is now forecasting more than $800 million USD in annual cost savings as a result of its Bank of the West acquisition in February. That's up nearly 20% from an earlier projection.

Expenses at Canada's second-biggest bank are higher than they should be, and the layoffs are one part of a plan to control costs going forward, executives say. Other Canadian banks including CIBC, Scotiabank and BMO have also shed workers this year.