Wells Fargo: Exceeding Expectations
It will not come as a surprise to anyone that banks all over the world have been in severe trouble as the global economic woes impact most segments of the financial industry. I have read numerous articles, and written a few myself, about when the bottom of this crisis would be reached. Back on January 9th, I happily wrote a post entitled Rebounding Markets in which I discussed the flurry of reports on the bottom of the economic markets having been reached.
Today, Wells Fargo released its first quarter numbers. The first quarter profits for Wells Fargo have surpassed all of the most optimistic Wall Street predictions. Wells Fargo’s acquisition of Wachovia last year prompted a loss of over 50% of its profits. In spite of this loss that was directly related to the large stock of delinquent home loans held by Wachovia, the home loan sector of Wells Fargo generated $100 billion worth of closed mortgages in the first quarter. Prompted in part by the lowest interest rates since 1971 (source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System), President Barrack Obama said today that refinances for March rose by 88% and represent 75% of loan applications.
Still think we haven’t reached the bottom?
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