Bank Bummer

While bank profits rose 21% in Q2 ’12 compared to a year earlier, looks can be deceiving. Much of the increase is due to one-time releases from loan-loss reserves. Worse, net interest margins fell to 3.46% in Q2 from 3.52% in Q1. And margins will shrink further as yields on deposits can’t fall more, and…

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Profits to Bank On

I am sure you will be delighted to learn that US banks earned profits of $35 billion in Q3 ’11, their best showing since before the recession. The up-tick is primarily due to banks putting aside less to cover bad loans, not due to interest from new ones; bank loan balances increased by just $21.8…

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