Hopes fade for U.S. bank earnings despite rally in financial shares

Reuters
April 10, 2017

Big U.S. lenders are expected to report another round of uninspiring quarterly results next week, which analysts said could dampen a “Trump rally” in bank stocks fueled by expectations the new president would lighten financial regulation and boost the economy.

Of particular concern is a recent slowdown in loan growth, driven partly by an uptick in interest rates that dissuaded consumers and companies from refinancing loans.

In February, outstanding loans across the U.S. banking industry declined for the first time in more than three years, according to Federal Reserve data. Loans fell slightly for the first quarter overall.

Analysts and investors said the lending slowdown came as a surprise, and appeared related not only to declines in mortgage refinancing and corporate borrowing but also to uncertainty about U.S. policy and economic growth.

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This article was posted: Monday, April 10, 2017 at 7:12 am






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