The nation’s biggest banks are getting squeezed from almost every direction, quarterly reports show, from slumping mortgage demand to a sluggish economy and tumultuous bond markets.
The result has been a lackluster third quarter for lenders from behemoths like J.P. Morgan Chase JPM +0.62% & Co. and Citigroup Inc. to regional banks such as PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and M&T Bank Corp.
The 10 largest traditional commercial banks and securities firms in the U.S. that have reported earnings thus far posted a 6.9% decline in combined adjusted net income, to $17 billion. Adjusted revenue totaled $116 billion for the quarter, a 4.8% decrease from the same period in 2012…
Alan Johnson, managing director of New York-based compensation-consulting firm Johnson Associates, estimated fixed-income, currencies and commodities employees’ year-end pay will fall 15% from last year. “People are going to be frustrated,” said Mr. Johnson, adding that “it’s going to be tough to find much greener pastures somewhere else.”
The Wall Street Journal / October 18, 2013