BofA, Morgan Stanley and BNY Mellon post mixed Q1 earnings
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Bank earnings kicked off on Monday this week with Goldman storming through Q1 with a 28% profit surge, but US behemoth Bank of America (BofA) stumbled during the first three months of 2024, falling 18%. Morgan Stanley and BNY Mellon also reported on Tuesday, beating profit estimates.
The numbers: BofA reported a drop in Q1 profit, falling to USD6.7 billion ($10.46 billion) from USD8.2 billion a year earlier. Conversely, Morgan Stanley and BNY Mellon beat estimates with Q1 profits surging 14% and 5% respectively.
The context: Investment banking helped drive Morgan Stanley’s Q1 performance, as an increase in dealmaking pushed the division’s revenue up 16% from a year earlier. Despite BofA’s profit drop, investment banking also proved to be a silver lining as IB fees jumped 35% to USD1.6 billion from the year prior – working to offset a decline in interest payments linked to easing borrower demand.
Trading revenues for Morgan Stanley also surpassed expectations, coming in at USD5.33 billion, while the bank’s wealth unit delivered USD6.88 billion in revenue. New assets in the wealth management division rose to USD95 billion, which is higher than the previous two quarters combined, and shows the bank is meeting its required target needed to grow the division.
BofA’s sluggish results were weighed down by costs associated with the US’ regional banking crisis last year, which saw the FDIC impose a round of fees on large US banks to rebuild its deposit insurance fund.
