JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Goldman Sachs (GS) are scheduled to announce quarterly results before the open on April 14. What to watch for:
1. OUTLOOK: During the company’s last earnings call, Wells Fargo said it currently expects 2021 net interest income to be flat to down 4% from the annualized fourth quarter of 2020 level of $36.8B. Expectations assume the asset cap will remain in place for 2021. The bank also expects 2021 to get off to a slow start, and sees path to longer-term ROTCE of around 15%.
2. TARGETS UPPED AHEAD OF EARNINGS: Jefferies analyst Ken Usdin raised the firm’s price target on JPMorgan to $177 from $157 and on Wells Fargo to $45 from $37, while keeping Buy ratings on the both ahead of earnings reporting season for the banks. The analyst believes deposit growth “will shine” for the group in the first quarter, helped by stimulus, and he would expect more reserve releases this quarter given the improving economic backdrop. Barclays analyst Jason Goldberg also raised the firm’s price target on Goldman Sachs to $420 from $392 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. In global markets, trading volume and volatility have remained elevated and Goldman’s intra-quarter indicated that first quarter trading revenues were off to a strong start, Goldberg told investors in a research note of his own.
3. DIVIDENDS, SHARE REPURCHASES: The Federal Reserve Board announced that the temporary and additional restrictions on bank holding company dividends and share repurchases currently in place will end for most firms after June 30, after completion of the current round of stress tests. Companies with capital levels above those required by the stress test will no longer be subject to the additional restrictions as of that date. Companies with capital levels below those required by the stress test will remain subject to the restrictions.
4. NO FAIR LENDING VIOLATIONS: The New York State Department of Financial Services issued a report last month summarizing its findings after investigating consumer complaints about the Apple Card (AAPL). The investigation, which included a review of several thousand pages of records and written responses from Goldman Sachs and Apple, interviews of witnesses and Apple Card applicants, and analysis of underwriting data for approximately 400,000 New York State applicants for the Apple Card, did not produce evidence of unlawful discrimination against applicants under fair lending law, the agency said in a statement. “While we found no fair lending violations, our inquiry stands as a reminder of disparities in access to credit that continue nearly 50 years after the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
The report also notes that the use of credit scoring in its current form and laws and regulations barring discrimination in lending are in need of strengthening and modernization to improve access to credit,” said Superintendent of Financial Services Linda Lacewell.