Big U.S. banks like JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup are saying they earned more money because interest rates went up. Even though the economy is slowing down and people are being more careful with their money, the banks are making more profit.
Here’s what happened: The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates, and that helped the banks make more money from loans. People are borrowing less and saving less, though. Citibank and Wells Fargo also mentioned that more people are having trouble paying off credit cards and debts.
The banks are being careful too. They are holding onto more cash and not giving out as much credit because some other banks had problems earlier this year.
The CEO of Citigroup, Jane Fraser, said people are spending less, showing that consumers are being more cautious. Some banks are also worried about new rules that might make it harder for them to lend money.
But it’s not all bad news. JPMorgan thinks the economy will still grow a bit, and they released some money they had saved up for emergencies. Other banks, like Citi and Wells Fargo, had fewer bad loans than people expected.
Overall, the big banks made more money from the interest on loans, but people are being careful with their spending and saving less. Some banks are a bit worried about new rules, but things are not as bad as they thought.
