(Reuters) - Major U.S. banks kept their staffing levels largely stable in the first quarter, bracing for potential disruption later in the year that some analysts say may trigger job cuts. Turbulence stemming from President Donald Trump’s tariffs has fueled fears that economic growth may slow down and spook corporations into adopting a cautious approach to deals. Should mergers and acquisitions stall and initial public offerings remain sluggish, employees at Wall Street banks could have to bear the brunt, Reuters has reported. That outcome is looking increasingly likely as Trump’s vacillating trade policy sows confusion. The KBW Bank Index has fallen nearly 11% since Trump unveiled the tariffs on April 2, which he has touted as Liberation Day. "Clients have become more cautious amid an increase in market volatility driven by geopolitical and trade-related tensions," JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said on a post-earnings call on Friday. The bank’s employees grew 0.4% over the three months ended March 31. The bank currently has more than 14,000 open positions, a spokesperson for the bank said last week. Bank of America and Wells Fargo reported 0.2% and nearly 1% fewer employees, respectively. BofA had cut a few investment banking roles in the first quarter, Reuters reported last month. Goldman Sachs added 100 people, while its rival Morgan Stanley hired 545. Headcount at Citigroup (NYSE:C) was almost unchanged. "I would expect a significant amount of M&A activity through the rest of the year," Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said on an analyst call after results on Monday. "But obviously, if the (economic) landscape got more constrained, there’s a risk of it slowing," he added. All of the banks reported better-than-expected profits for the first quarter, primarily driven by higher trading revenues as consumers rejigged their portfolios in an uncertain market. BANK HEADCOUNT HEADCOUNT AS OF AS OF MARCH 31, DECEMBER 2025 31, 2024 JPMorgan 318,477 317,233 Chase Bank of 212,732 213,193 America Citigroup ~229,000 ~229,000 Wells 215,367 217,502 Fargo Morgan 81,023 80,478 Stanley Goldman 46,600 46,500 Sachs Source: Company filings Should you invest $2,000 in C right now? With C making headlines, savvy investors are asking: Is it truly valued fairly? In a market full of overpriced darlings, identifying true value can be challenging. InvestingPro's advanced AI algorithms have analyzed C alongside thousands of other stocks to uncover hidden gems. These undervalued stocks, potentially including C, could offer substantial returns as the market corrects. In 2024 alone, our AI identified several undervalued stocks that later surged by 30 or more. Is C poised for similar growth? Don't miss the opportunity to find out.

FinTech Investors and Startups in Silicon Valley

the OCC, has confirmed that national banks can buy and sell crypto assets on behalf of their clients, without the need for prior approvals.

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Investing.com -- Five major U.S. banks reported second-quarter 2025 results on Tuesday, with all beating earnings per share estimates, according to RBC. Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK), Citigroup (NYSE:C), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), State Street (NYSE:STT), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) all exceeded analyst expectations, prompting RBC to adjust EPS estimates upward for all five institutions. The strong performance demonstrates the banking sector’s resilience following heightened economic uncertainty in the first half of the year. Credit quality remained healthy, with loan loss provisions and net charge-offs coming in better than expected. Capital levels for all five banks were strong and comfortably above regulatory requirements, suggesting stock buybacks—which were robust in Q2—will remain prominent over the next 12 months. This is particularly likely given the lower indicative Stressed Capital Buffers for Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Net interest income increased by an average of 3.2% from the previous quarter across the five banks. The average second-quarter net interest margin was 1.97%, three basis points below the prior quarter. RBC noted that net interest income reached a trough for most covered banks during Q2/Q3 of 2024 as funding costs declined faster than earning asset yields. Core noninterest income was mixed but rose an average of 1.2% from the prior quarter and 6.6% year-over-year. This growth benefited from stronger investment banking revenues compared to the same period last year. Trading revenues showed strength as market volatility drove equity trading for Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. State Street and Bank of New York Mellon both saw strength in core noninterest income, up mid-single-digits sequentially with strong year-over-year growth driven by higher assets under custody and assets under management levels. Operating expenses were mixed, decreasing an average of 0.7% sequentially while increasing 3.9% year-over-year. Higher wages and technology spending continue to be the primary drivers of noninterest expense growth. Credit quality indicators remained positive, with nonperforming asset levels staying healthy and credit costs manageable. The banks experienced an average four basis point sequential decrease in their net charge-off ratio, while their nonperforming asset ratio increased 2.2% sequentially. In Q2 2025, the average year-over-year increase for tangible book value and book value per share growth was 12% and 9.7%, respectively. State Street led with a 17% increase in tangible book value per share and 12% increase in book value per share year-over-year. RBC expects similar trends for banks reporting results on Wednesday, including strong trading results, healthy credit quality, modest net interest income growth, solid stock buybacks, and year-over-year growth in book value per share. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. With valuations skyrocketing in 2024, many investors are uneasy putting more money into stocks. Unsure where to invest next? Get access to our proven portfolios and discover high-potential opportunities. In 2024 alone, ProPicks AI identified 2 stocks that surged over 150%, 4 additional stocks that leaped over 30%, and 3 more that climbed over 25%. That's an impressive track record. With portfolios tailored for Dow stocks, S&P stocks, Tech stocks, and Mid Cap stocks, you can explore various wealth-building strategies.

Asian crime syndicates’ online scams have reached industrial proportions, cheating victims around the world out of more than $44 billion a year. U.S. banks have been unable to stop them.

New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) shares rose nearly 5.91% in premarket trading on Wednesday following...

By Sinead Cruise and Stefania Spezzati LONDON (Reuters) - Non-EU banks have carved out "dominant" roles in some of Europe’s key financial markets, including derivatives where U.S. banks prevail, the European Banking Authority said on Thursday as concerns about the strategic autonomy of the European financial sector grow. Reviewing the dependence of the EU banking sector on foreign banks and foreign currencies, the EBA - which has a mandate to protect and support the EU financial system - said that U.S. banks had a nearly 28% share of the EU derivatives market at December 2023, a rising trend first seen in mid-2021. Overall, non-EU banks’ market share was 33.73%, including an 8.17% share in loans and 6.06% in debt securities, according to the data. The study was published less than a day after the United States imposed a slew of tariffs on imports, rattling markets and stoking fears of a deep global recession. It also comes as strategic allies and trading partners of the United States are evaluating their reliance on the superpower. Some European central banking and supervisory officials are questioning whether they can still rely on the U.S. central bank, Reuters reported last month. The overall market share of non-EU banks across all assets stands at around 10%, down from around 12% in the previous report, the EBA said. By currency, 67% of EU/EEA banks’ exposures is denominated in euros, 19% is in U.S. dollars, a level which has remained stable since mid-2021, according to the EBA. "The market shares in certain areas, such as interest rate derivatives, fee income reaped from commodity trading and from providing collective investment services, are substantially higher and are in some cases indicative of dominant roles played by non-EU institutions in the EU banking market," it said. Olli Carsten, Head of Economic Analysis and Impact Assessment at the EBA said Brussels originally commissioned the analysis in the aftermath of Brexit and finding U.S. banks were strong in derivatives and repo markets was neither surprising nor worrying at this point. "But (the data) could now also contribute to the strategic autonomy discussion," he said. "The Commission wants to understand what this market looks like, how it is structured, and whether there are some areas that could raise potential concerns in situations like what we are witnessing now," he said. The EBA said it also found "a meaningful currency mismatch" at some lenders and recommended supervisors "pay attention to any gaps in stable funding requirements", ensuring currency breakdowns between assets and liabilities are adequately hedged.

Investing.com -- The Federal Reserve’s annual stress test revealed Friday that the 22 largest U.S. banks have sufficient capital to endure a severe economic downturn while continuing to provide loans to customers. The test, which simulates a hypothetical recession scenario including high unemployment and market volatility, showed these financial institutions maintaining strong capital levels even after absorbing combined losses exceeding $550 billion. Despite these significant hypothetical losses, the banks’ capital levels decreased by only 1.8% in the Fed’s scenario. The institutions maintained more than twice the minimum capital required by regulations. The results showed banks held an average common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 11.6%, substantially higher than the 4.5% regulatory minimum requirement. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman noted in a statement that "Large banks remain well-capitalized and resilient to a range of severe outcomes." This annual assessment helps ensure major financial institutions can withstand economic shocks while continuing to serve their lending functions during difficult economic periods. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. With valuations skyrocketing in 2024, many investors are uneasy putting more money into stocks. Unsure where to invest next? Get access to our proven portfolios and discover high-potential opportunities. In 2024 alone, ProPicks AI identified 2 stocks that surged over 150%, 4 additional stocks that leaped over 30%, and 3 more that climbed over 25%. That's an impressive track record. With portfolios tailored for Dow stocks, S&P stocks, Tech stocks, and Mid Cap stocks, you can explore various wealth-building strategies.

The outgoing president still has the chance to shape his legacy on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Investing.com - Solid results from U.S. banks may not translate into similar returns at European peers due to report in the coming days, according to analysts at Citi. A series of major Wall Street lenders, including names like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America, reported strong earnings this week, bolstered in part by increased trading activity in the wake of recent market ructions. But some executives flagged that uncertainty from sweeping U.S. tariffs looms over the broader economic outlook. Second-quarter investment banking revenues from the five key U.S. banks rose by 16% year-over-year to $42 billion, but were down 6% versus the prior quarter, analysis from Citi showed. Meanwhile, fixed income trading revenues also jumped by 15% compared to a year earlier to $18 billion, yet dropped 10% quarter-over-quarter. Equities trading revenues grew by 24% year-over-year to $15 billion, although it too dipped 5% against the previous three-month period. In a note to clients, the Citi analysts said the U.S. lenders’ returns suggest "slightly worse results in sales and trading from the European banks, driven by regional and business mix, negative foreign-exchange translation and market share losses." They predict that, combined, European investment banking revenues are set to come in at $15 billion, up by 10% year-over-year but falling 12% quarter-on-quarter. "For European banks Dealogic data suggests a weaker performance, relative to U.S. peers, with only the two French banks, BNP Paribas (EPA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (EPA:SOGN) (OTC:SCGLY), set to report an increase year-over-year," the analysts wrote. "In contrast Barclays (LON:BARC), Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) and UBS (SIX:UBSG) (NYSE:UBS) all look set to see declines." The Citi analysts downgraded their rating of Barclays, in particular, to "neutral" from "buy," citing a recent run-up in its shares. Barclays’ stock price has surged by over 125% since the end of 2023. Before you buy stock in BAC, consider this: ProPicks AI are 6 easy-to-follow model portfolios created by Investing.com for building wealth by identifying winning stocks and letting them run. Over 150,000 paying members trust ProPicks to find new stocks to buy – driven by AI. The ProPicks AI algorithm has just identified the best stocks for investors to buy now. The stocks that made the cut could produce enormous returns in the coming years. Is BAC one of them?

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FinTech Investors and Startups in Silicon Valley

The US Federal Reserve's new rule changes pave the way for increased Ripple Adoption by American banks, boosting XRP's utility and price.

FinTech Investors and Startups in Silicon Valley

FinTech Investors and Startups in Silicon Valley

FinTech Investors and Startups in Silicon Valley