Wells Fargo & Co. said earnings rose in the first three months of the year after the bank released some of the money it had set aside for non-performing loans at the start of the pandemic.
The San Francisco creditor on Wednesday posted a profit of $ 4.74 billion in the first quarter, up from $ 653 million a year earlier. A year ago, Wells Fargo and other big banks set aside billions of dollars to prepare for a coronavirus recession, hitting their profits at the time.
Earnings per share were $ 1.05, exceeding the forecast of 71 cents in a FactSet survey of analysts.
Wells Fargo said it had revenue of $ 18.06 billion, up 2% from $ 17.72 billion a year earlier. It exceeded $ 17.52 billion expected by analysts.
The seven-fold increase in the bank’s profit came during what appears to be an economic recovery. This prompted banks to release some of the money they deposited last year to protect themselves against sour loans, which boosted their results.