Cybersecurity
Wall Street's Big Ax Seen Reaping Best Year-End Profit Since '06
- Analysts estimate fourth-quarter costs lowest in seven years
- Expense cuts overcame `a pretty sluggish revenue environment'
Wall Street Cuts Spending to Boost Profits
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In their quest for higher profits, the biggest U.S. banks have seized on the one thing they can reliably control: cutting costs.
The nation’s six largest lenders will spend $61.8 billion on items including employee compensation, marketing and real estate in the fourth quarter, the lowest total for a quarter since the final three months 2008, according to analysts’ estimates. That’s helping companies deliver more revenue to the bottom line, which at a projected $19.9 billion for the group would be the most for the final quarter of a year since 2006.