Wells Fargo announced Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings increased by 20 percent, resulting in net profits of $4.1 billion or 73 cents a share. This compared with $3.4 billion or 61 cents per share in the period a year earlier.
Investors responded positively to the news, sending Wells Fargo’s shares up more than 2 percent in morning trading.
Along with increased profits in Q4, the San Francisco-based bank posted revenues of $20.6 billion, up 20 percent from the prior quarter, but below the $21.5 billion in the period a year earlier.
The strong fourth-quarter results helped the bank to a $15.9 billion profit in 2011, up 28 percent from 2010, when the bank earned $12.36 billion. For the year, the bank posted $80.9 billion in revenue, dropping from $85.2 in 2010.
“I’m extremely pleased with Wells Fargo’s performance in 2011 – including strong deposit and loan growth, record cross-sell and record earnings,” said Chairman and CEO John Stumpf.
Notwithstanding Stumpf’s optimism, analysts say, the sluggish economic recovery and a new rounds of federal regulations continued to weigh on revenue at banks.
