Tepid trading activity, low interest rates and mounting legal costs have all weighed on the profitability of US banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, leaving investors in search of fresh signs of optimism as the big banks’ quarterly reporting season kicks off on Thursday.
In a June 29 preliminary report of its results, BofA said trading revenue fell in the second quarter from the first and that net interest income – the amount banks earn on loans – would also decline.
Shares in JPMorgan, BofA, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have each tumbled by more than 10 per cent since March amid a rash of economic and regulatory worries.