Big banks see clouds amid mixed Q1 results

NEW YORK — Big banks warned of an “uncertain” year ahead in the wake of mixed financial results during the first quarter in an environment of stubbornly high inflation and geopolitical clashes in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.

JPMorgan reported a modest 6% rise in profits Friday while profits at Wells Fargo and Citigroup declined, although both topped Wall Street expectations.

“Many economic indicators continue to be favorable. However, looking ahead, we remain alert to a number of significant uncertain forces,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said, citing the wars in Gaza and

Ukraine as well as other geopolitical pressures, high levels of government spending across the world and “persistent inflationary pressures.”

Dimon used language Friday that was similar to what he told investors Monday in his annual shareholder letter.

In that letter, Dimon warned that geopolitical events, including the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, as well as U.S. political polarization, could be creating an environment that “may very well be creating risks that could eclipse anything since World War II.”

Dimon’s letter seemed prophetic two days later when the U.S. released hotterthan-expected inflation data for March, putting uncomfortably high consumer prices back at the top of agenda for policymakers, particularly President Joe Biden in his bid for a second term in the White House.

JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, earned a profit of $13.42 billion, or $4.44 a share, compared with a profit of $12.62 billion, or $4.10 a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Wells Fargo issued its first earnings report since the Biden administration eased some of the restrictions on the bank after a series of scandals. Wells earned $4.6 billion in the first quarter, or $1.20 a share, beating analyst estimates of $1.06 a share.

Citigroup earned $3.37 billion, or $1.58 a share, compared with a profit of $4.6 billion, or $2.19 a share, a year earlier.