Wells Fargo Reports Decrease in Earnings

By Emily Glazer 

Wells Fargo & Co. said its fourth-quarter profit fell as the nation's third-largest bank reports its first full quarter of results since its sales-tactics scandal erupted in September.

The San Francisco-based bank reported a profit of $5.27 billion, or 96 cents a share. That compares with $5.58 billion, or $1 a share, in the same period of 2015. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $1 a share.

Revenue slipped slightly to $21.582 billion from $21.586 billion and fell below the average analyst estimate of $22.45 billion.

Wells Fargo, led by CEO Timothy Sloan, had been one of the most consistent big banks at growing earnings and revenue. Shares dropped though after the bank agreed to a $185 million settlement with two regulators and a city official over opening as many as 2.1 million accounts with fictitious or unauthorized information.

The bank's shares bounced back following the election, rising about 20%, which compares with a 23% jump by the KBW Nasdaq Bank index of large commercial lenders over the same period.

Wells Fargo still faces a spate of state and federal investigations, including by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulators also said last month that the bank failed its so-called living will regulatory test of how the bank could unwind in a crisis scenario.

Write to Emily Glazer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 13, 2017 08:23 ET (13:23 GMT)

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