Bank Earnings Jump 57% in Analyst Forecasts Proved Wrong in 2011
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Analysts’ failure to foresee declining earnings per share for the biggest U.S. banks last year hasn’t stopped them from predicting an even bigger profit surge for 2012.
The six largest lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., may post an average profit increase of 57 percent this year, according to 184 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. A year ago, analysts predicted profit at the banks would climb 32 percent in 2011. Instead, earnings per share probably fell 18 percent as the economic recovery analysts counted on never took hold.