Wells Fargo & Company’s community banking arm has registered a net income of $3.3bn in the fourth quarter of 2015, down 0.9% compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the quarter ended 31 December 2015, total revenue rose 1.4% $12.33bn from $12.16bn a year earlier.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The rise was driven by higher net interest income, market sensitive revenue, primarily equity investment gains and gains on sale of debt securities, mortgage banking fees, deposit service charges, debit and credit card fees, and trust and investment fees, partially offset by a gain on sale of government guaranteed student loans in the prior year, the bank said in its earnings statement.
The division’s noninterest expense stood at $6.69bn, a drop of 1.9% as against $6.83 in the fourth quarter of 2014. The bank attributed the decline to lower foreclosed assets expense, partially offset by higher equipment expenses and operating losses.
The unit’s provision for credit losses increased to $704m from $506m in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Wells Fargo’s community banking arm provides diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses such as checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and auto, student, and small business lending.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe division also offers investment, insurance and trust services in 39cstates and D.C., along with mortgage and home equity loans in all 50 states and D.C. through its Regional Banking and Wells Fargo Home Lending business units.
Overall, the banking group posted a net income of $5.7bn, or $1.03 per share, stable compared with fourth quarter 2014. Revenue increased to $21.6bn from $21.4bn a year ago.
Wells Fargo chairman and CEO John Stumpf commented: "Full year and fourth quarter 2015 results demonstrated the benefit of our diversified business model as we again generated strong financial results, maintained our risk discipline and continued to invest across the company for future growth. We remained focused on the building blocks of long-term shareholder value, with continued growth in loans, deposits and capital."
