Banks Can’t Count on Loans for Growth

Even as the largest banks have grown and diversified, lending stays a core a part of their enterprise. And it appears like that may get more durable this yr.

The outlooks that banks gave on Friday for 2024 web curiosity earnings—a measure of what they earn on yield from money, loans and securities, minus what they pay in curiosity prices—have been muted. JPMorgan Chase expects it to be about flat versus 2023, whereas Wells Fargo anticipates a possible decline of about 7% to 9%, and Citigroup expects their core web curiosity earnings to be “down modestly.”